Fox, Dragon, and Phoenix
by Noremac12
Summary: Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke become legendary warriors in the ninja world. Set at start of shippuden.
1. Chapter 1

The wind was blowing slightly and the sky clear. Konoha was finally getting back to its full power and might after the invasion of Orochimaru and the Sand Village two and a half years prior. Sitting in her office Tsunade was looking over reports of missions her Jonin were accomplishing when a knock came at the door. "Enter." Tsunade grunted. Looking up as the door opened she saw a pink haired girl entering into the office. She was wearing a pink short sleeved shirt and white pants and had a thick and toned figure. "Good afternoon Lady Tsunade." She said. "Hi Sakura, what can I do for you?" Tsunade asked with a smile. "Just getting off work from the hospital and wondering if there was anything you needed me to do?" Sakura asked. "Well there will be a mission for you to go on in the next two days. We have a lead on the Akatsuki." Tsunade stated. "For now take some time off and rest. I'll need you at full power." Tsunade declared. "Yes ma'am." Sakura replied before leaving.

Walking out of the office she closed the door and headed outside. While she was walking Sakura looked around the village and saw businesses opening back up from being closed for so long. As she went down the street she was passed by a young boy running. "Hey!" She shouted. Turning around the young boy looked at Sakura and she saw that it was Konohamaru. "Sorry Sakura! I have to hurry! He's back!" He said joyfully. "He who?" Sakura asked. " Naruto!" He replied. Hearing this Sakura followed Konohamaru to where he was meeting Naruto.

After a while they reached an intersection and saw two people walking towards them. One was a taller older man with white hair and the other an average height teenage boy with yellow hair. He was wearing orange pants and an orange and black long sleeved zipped up jacket. "Naruto!" Konohamaru yelled. Seeing him Naruto ran over to greet his friend. "Hey there Konohamaru, how's it going?" Naruto said with a smiled. "Great! It's been a while. How strong are you now Boss?!" Konohamaru asked with glee. "Eh, pretty strong." Naruto boasted. Looking past Konohamaru he saw a familiar face. "Huh? Sakura is that you?" He asked going closer. "Yeah you dolt how've you been?" She asked giving him a soft jab on the shoulder. "Excellent! The Pervy Sage and I have been training hard and I've learned and developed some awesome jutsu." Naruto smirked. Looking at Sakura, Naruto noticed something about her. "Um Sakura you seem different." He commented. "I do? So I seem more of a woman." Sakura stated batting her eyes. "Actually I was going to say you shrunk." Naruto said bluntly. "Oh shut up you jerk." Sakura said bashing him on the head. "Damn some things never change aye Pervy Sage." Naruto laughed. "Stop calling me Pervy Sage." A voiced bellowed from behind him. "It's good to see you Master Jiraiya." Sakura said softly. "You too, what have you been up to?" Jiraiya asked. "Training and learning medical jutsu from Lady Tsunade." Sakura replied. "I see so you're a medical ninja, nice with your chakra control you'll be a star." Jiraiya chuckled. "Thank you. So where are you two headed? Sakura asked. "To see Granny Tsunade; I'm ready for a new mission!" Naruto declared. "I bet she'll be happy to see you, Boss. Well I have to go get ready for a mission. See ya!" Konohamaru said waving goodbye.

Going to the Hokage's office, Naruto burst in much to Tsunade's dismay. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Tsunade growled seeing who it was she was in shock. "Naruto? You're finally back eh. I see being away from the village didn't improve your manners." She sighed. "So what's my first big mission?" Naruto asked eagerly. "First you're going to take a test. I want to see what you've learned and the person giving the test is someone familiar." Tsunade said with a smile. "Oh really who? Who?" Naruto asked impatiently. "Me." A voiced answered from outside the window. Rushing toward the voice, Naruto peeked his head out and saw Kakashi. "Been a while Naruto, I see you've grown." Kakashi commented. "I'm also a lot stronger." Naruto grinned. "We'll see this evening in the woods where you took your first test to get on my team, you and Sakura will both be tested." Kakashi said before vanishing. "Can't wait." Naruto muttered.

After a couple of hours Naruto and Sakura made it to the training grounds where they first trained against Kakashi. There they found their sensei leaning up against a tree reading a book. "Good you're finally here we can begin." Kakashi said casually. In the trees watching them were Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Shizune. "This should be good. How strong as this kid gotten, Jiraiya?" Tsunade asked. "Just wait and see. Though I will say this; if he was strong as he is now when the four of us fought against Orochimaru and Kabuto; Orochimaru would have one less follower." Jiraiya replied coldly. "Wow, this is going to be intense then." Shizune gasped.

"Since there are only two of you this time, the bells will actually need to be stolen." Kakashi informed them. "Alright then here we go!" Naruto yelled charging Kakashi with a kunai in hand. Before he knew it Kakashi had Naruto's hand behind his back and the kunai pointed at his head. "Nice try but I didn't say go." Kakashi pointed out. Suddenly he felt a kunai in his back. "Impressive." Kakashi stated pointing out Naruto's improved timing and speed. "Thanks Sensei." Naruto snickered. Hmm he did that purposely. Sakura thought. "Ok now. GO!" Kakashi shouted darted back. "The first lesson will be Taijutsu!" He called out. Naruto and Sakura dashed towards him with incredible speed. Impressive they've gotten faster. Kakashi thought with a smile. Naruto sent out a fury of punches and kicks all with great power causing Kakashi to actually put more effort than usual to block them. Naruto then activated a shadow clone without warning which came from behind and Kakashi it punched in the face swiftly before flipping over Naruto and fighting Sakura. Attacking her, he put Sakura on the defensive and watched for a counter. When it came Kakashi vanished. "Damn it. Where'd he go?" Naruto snarled. "Well he's not above us or in the trees around us. It'd be too much of a retreat. Guess that only leaves BELOW US!" Sakura bellowed as she punched the ground causing the terrain to exploded upward shocking Kakashi, Naruto, and Jiraiya. "You've got to be kidding me. She's learned to use her chakra like the 5th Hokage to enhance her strength." Kakashi sighed. "Oh great another Tsunade." Jiraiya whispered to himself. "If I'm not careful, Sakura might kill me." Naruto muttered.

Sakura rushed Kakashi hard and threw punches and kicks that he made sure to dodge. Pulling out a couple of shurikens, Sakura chucked them at Kakashi with such force they cut the trees in half. While he was in the air, Naruto came down with a powerful kick that Kakashi caught and tossed Naruto aside. Recovering and bouncing off a tree Naruto hit Kakashi in the chest sending him back a bit. "Nice hit." Kakashi commented. Landing on the ground Kakashi was then ambushed by Sakura and several shadow clones of hers. Her numbers and speed put him on the defensive and forced him to lift his forehead protector and activate his Sharingan. With it Kakashi was able to predict and perceive Sakura's movements. Hmm she's become adequate in using shadow clones. Her work with Tsunade has paid off. Kakashi thought.

"Enough!" Kakashi yelled. "Time for lesson two, Genjutsu." He stated. Hearing that, Naruto threw a kunai that Kakashi blocked with his own. Suddenly his vision became blurry. Blinking Kakashi found everything to be inverted. "The hell?" He said in confusion. Hearing this Naruto darted towards Kakashi and signaled Sakura to follow his lead. The two attacked Kakashi who was in utter confusion as left was right, right was left, up was down, down was up, and forward was backwards. With his sight inverted he was hit a couple of time and sent flying back by Sakura's great strength. With his Sharingan he tried to see through the Genjutsu that Naruto cast, but was finding difficulty. After a while of being under it, Kakashi noticed that his chakra felt a bit off and charged it up a bit and saw the jutsu shatter. "Interesting a Genjutsu that takes effect when your chakra comes in contact with your opponent. Very rare and powerful." Kakashi commented. "Thanks. It's my secret art Inverted Sight Jutsu." Naruto proclaimed. While he was distracted, Sakura aimed to hit Kakashi and end the match, but he sensed her coming and dodged the blow causing her to hit a tree and send dust and wood flying around. Inhaling some of the dust , Kakashi noticed someone moving to his right. Looking that way he saw Orochimaru and Kabuto coming at him fast. Fighting them intensely he managed to defeat them then realized that a Genjutsu just ended. Looking around he saw the trees that should have been destroyed stand once more and that he was still in the same position before he saw them. "Damn. Another Genjutsu this one was easier to see through but I feel the effects of fighting even though I didn't move. Cunning." Kakashi told Sakura. "Thanks Sensei. " Sakura grinned. "Both of you have made some powerful Genjutsu with more practice they'll be deadly." He told them. " You got that right." Naruto chuckled.

"Alright now time for the third lesson, Ninjutsu." Kakashi said gruffly. With blinding speed Kakashi created hand signs and released the Grand Fireball Jutsu. The flames soared towards Naruto and Sakura in red hot light. Reacting quickly Sakura hit the ground flipped up a large piece of it to block the attack. Naruto dashed to the side and concentrated chakra inside of his stomach and exhaled. Fire Style: Fox Claw Jutsu! Naruto created a giant fiery fox claw. The blast propelled towards Kakashi who was amazed. "Damn that's big." Tsunade commented. Kakashi dodged the attack by leaping towards the water. At that point he created more hand signs and unleashed another jutsu. Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu. The attack flew towards them and Sakura went with a counter. Placing her hand on the ground, Sakura flooded it with chakra. Earth Style: Stone Knight Jutsu. Suddenly a warrior of stone rose from the ground and stood at 40ft tall and 30ft wide and blocked the attack. "Both of them are using Jonin level Jutsu. Incredible." Shizune smiled. "Damn these are good jutsu." Kakashi said to himself. Naruto made quick hand signs and clapped his hands together focusing his chakra. Using his Sharingan Kakashi could tell the jutsu was going to be big. Suddenly the leaves on the trees around them began to glow slightly and then all darted at Kakashi at high speeds. Ninja Art: Leaf Storm Jutsu. The leaves bombarded Kakashi who summoned a mud wall to deflect them and noticed that some managed to cut through it. Leaping into the air he cast another Grand Fireball Jutsu to offset Naruto's attack. Seeing an opportunity, Sakura darted for one of the bells but was quickly countered by Kakashi once again.

"Naruto's created some interesting jutsu. His speed and strength have also increased, he's fighting on a Jonin level." Tsunade observed. "Give him another five years and he'll be one powerful elite." Shizune stated. "Kid will definitely be a force to reckon with." Jiraiya assured.

Clenching her fist and focusing her chakra, Sakura began to charge a jutsu. Instantaneously her fist became engulfed in nearly all white flames. Creating several shadow clones Naruto sent them forward with an assault on Kakashi. Displaying incredible Taijutsu he manhandled them all. One tried to hit him with the Rasengan but ultimately failed. When he least expected it, Sakura came charging in with her fist drawn back. "Phoenix Fist! Propelling her fist forward she aimed for Kakashi's torso. Dodging the blow at the last second he watched it him a tree and cause an explosion of a radius of 40ft. The yield from the blast sent Kakashi back who was then charged in the air by both Sakura and Naruto. Grabbing them both he tossed them aside and heard a sound. Landing he looked down and noticed the bells were gone. "Nicely done." Kakashi said winded. "Thanks." They replied both out of breath.

"You've both become incredibly powerful." Kakashi stated. " Darn right Sensei! Now what's the big mission?" Naruto asked eagerly. "You'll find out tomorrow." Tsunade voiced from behind. "So what you think of my new skills?" Naruto asked. "They're ok." Tsunade scoffed. "Ok?! Just wait and see those weren't even the strong ones." Naruto snickered. Hearing this made Tsunade mildly shocked. "Get some rest so you can both be ready for the mission tomorrow." Kakashi ordered before vanishing.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning Sakura went to the Hokage Office and waited for Naruto and Kakashi to show up. "Late as always." She sighed. "Some things don't change." Tsunade giggled. "I was impressed with that fire jutsu you showed off yesterday." Tsunade told her. "Thank you. I didn't use its full potential of course as I didn't compress it enough. More it's compressed the more the explosion is compacted. I call it the Phoenix Fist." Sakura informed her. "Excellent." Tsunade smiled. At that moment Kakashi appeared at the window and hopped in. "Sorry I'm late, a black cat crossed my path." He chuckled. "Sure it did." Tsunade huffed. "Where's Naruto?" Kakashi asked looking around and not seeing him. "The twerp is late." Sakura grunted. "I'm not a twerp shorty." Naruto said appearing next to her out of thin air. Damn I almost didn't detect him. He's learned the Body Flicker. Kakashi thought. "Stop calling me shorty." Sakura whined. "Not a chance after years of being made fun of for being shorter than you, I'm sure you can take it for a week." Naruto argued. "Pipe down." A voice said from behind them. Turning around they saw Shikamaru standing at the door. "Hey there Shikamaru, how the hell are you?" Naruto asked. "Great. Glad to see you back in the village. Maybe you can become a Chunin one day." Shikamaru joked. "Already am." Naruto shot back. "Wait what? When?" Shikamaru asked. "Last Spring. I told them not to tell you guys because I wanted to be the first to break the news." Naruto grinned. "Nice job." Shikamaru said. "Congrats!" Sakura said hugging him. "Good work. Now on to your mission. The four of you are going to track two criminals named Saizo and Kaizo. They have ties with the Akatsuki and Orochimaru." Tsunade told them. Hearing this Sakura and Naruto both had looks of determination. They could finally work on getting Sasuke back. "Since Naruto and Kakashi are back I've moved up the mission. You deploy in five minutes. Your objective to capture these criminals so we can interrogate them. Failure is not an option. DISMISSED!" Tsunade bellowed as the four of them vanished.

Meeting outside the village gate the four of them gathered around to hear the plan. "Okay the two culprits we're looking for were last seen three hours from here in a small meat making village." Kakashi informed them. "Something you should all know is that they are S-Class criminals and each of them have monstrous chakra levels." Kakashi warned. "Doesn't matter we're going to bring them back to the village and find out where Orochimaru is hiding." Naruto declared.

Moving out they made their way to the small village. Splitting up they began to ask questions to see if anyone around knew where the criminal duo were located. Naruto was frustrated that most people didn't notice where they went despite their brutish looks. "How can people so strong and monstrous looking go unnoticed. Even non ninjas should be able to spot them a mile away." He pouted. After an hour they left the village and made their way to the next town to see if they could get more information. While they were walking Kakashi noticed something stirring in the trees. Giving the others a hidden signal they all were on alert.

Suddenly a several shuriken came from above, forcing them to scatter. "Seems like we've got company." Shikamaru sighed. "Well if it isn't Leaf Shinobi." Saizo huffed. He was large and muscular and his chakra was radiating fiercely. "Excellent. I need something to break." Kaizo grunted. Summoning his chakra it created a propelling force sending everyone flying. "Are these guys even human?!" Shikamaru wondered. With blinding speed Saizo took out a katana and slashed both Kakashi and Shikamaru wounded them mildly. Pulling out his Sharingan Kakashi readied for an attack. Kaizo leaped forward and tried to squash Sakura with his mammoth size. Only for her to catch him with one hand and punch him with the other. Leaping forward Naruto attack him with the Rasengan and sent Kaizo towards the ground causing a mild earthquake. Making hand signs he summoned a tidal wave of mud engulfing them both. Activating the Rasengan once more, Naruto used it shift the wave and free them.

Saizo was relentlessly attacking Shikamaru and Kakashi having both of them on the defensive. Pulling out a short blade he began fighting them with that instead of his sword. "Something's up with that blade." Shikamaru commented. "No kidding." Kakashi huffed as the blade was giving off a weird aura. The two engaged in battle with Saizo once more and were weary of the blade. Kakashi unleashed a powerful fire jutsu surrounding Saizo and partially blinding him. Shikamaru then used his Shadow Paralysis Jutsu to immobilize him. "Damn you rat bastard!" Saizo growled. He fired up his chakra and tried to power through the jutsu. With him bound Kakashi backed up and lowered his hand and started charging the Lightning Blade. Sprinting forward he aimed to wound Saizo in the shoulder to incapacitate him. Right as Kakashi drew closer, Saizo broke free of the Shadow Paralysis Jutsu with his colossal and bright chakra blinding Kakashi. Dodging Kakashi he stabbed him with this dagger in the arm. Charging fiercely he impaled Shikamaru and pummeled him into the ground breaking his ribs and leg. Kakashi did his best to bring down the beast of a man and was hit in the back. He started to feel woozy from the stab wound and fell to the ground. "This is my chakra draining dagger. You'll be dead in minutes." Saizo boasted.

Seeing this Naruto and Sakura grew worried. "You shouldn't focus on them. They're already dead. The only way to stop that is with our chakra and that ain't going to happen." Kaizo laughed. Making hand signs he summoned several stone spikes and launched them at Sakura and Naruto. Jumping in front of Naruto, Sakura summoned her Stone Knight Jutsu and protected them. With incredible speed she then activated her Phoenix Fist and highly compressed it before speeding off and jamming into Kaizo's gut blowing a hole in it. The giant warrior fell to the ground like beached whale.

Saizo flew into a rage seeing his partner injured. He unleashed several blades and fired them at Sakura and Naruto each one with an explosion tag. "Blade bomb jutsu!" He wailed causing an enormous explosion and hitting Sakura slightly. "Daman this isn't good." Naruto growled. Summoning his Shadow Clones he darted off and began to fight Saizo and tossed him around like a rag doll. Suddenly Kaizo began to rise with great ire. His chakra was pouring out rapidly with his rage fueling it with Saizo joining in. "Now's my chance." Naruto muttered. With both of them rushing him Naruto made some weird hand signs and activated an orange glow on his hands. Flipping over them he touched both of their chakras with his hands and got a grasped on them. "Secret Art: Chakra Sealing." Naruto declared. Leaping to Kakashi and Shikamaru he told them to pour out some chakra quickly. Doing so very weakly, they followed his instructions before starting to pass out. Naruto then touched the part of their chakra he could see and sealed away Kaizo and Saizo's chakras. The two behemoths dropped to their knees as their chakras were sucked dry. Rushing to them Sakura healed them a bit to keep them alive.

As he was sealing their chakras, Naruto stopped a bit on Kakashi and moved his hand to his eye and continued. Once he was done both Kakashi and Shikamaru looked better. "What the hell was that?" Sakura asked. "My chakra sealing jutsu. I found out from the Pervy Sage that the Uzumaki clan was known for their incredible sealing jutsus. So I created a few of my own. It seals the chakra in objects or people. Like how the Nine Tails was sealed in me except I sealed their chakra directly into their chakra streams. Don't know what long term effects it will have but they're safe for now we need to hurry back." Naruto said grabbing Kakashi and Shikamaru. "Right." Sakura said picking up Saizo and Kaizo with ease and leaping into the air. "Damn she's strong." Shikamaru commented regaining consciousness for a bit before going out again.

Rushing back to the village, they hurried to get medical attention for Shikamaru and Kakashi. They made a small stop so Sakura could check on them both before moving out again. Once they were back in the village, Sakura went straight to the detention area and dropped off the captives before heading to the hospital. "Both patients have depleted chakra and need supplements." Sakura ordered. Moving quickly all the nurses and doctors went to help Kakashi and Shikamaru. After a couple of hours they were both out of harm's way and expected to make full recoveries. "What happened?" Tsunade asked. "They were stabbed with a chakra draining dagger. Once stabbed it just kept getting lower and lower so I sealed both Saizo and Kaizo's chakra directly into their chakra paths and Kakashi Sensei's eye since I know it uses a lot of chakra." Naruto explained. "You what?!" Tsunade asked. "You heard me granny. It was the only way to save them as Kaizo said so. Their chakra was draining rapidly and I couldn't let them die." Naruto argued. "Well I hope there aren't any long term effects." Tsunade growled storming off to the operation room.

After a couple of hours passed and Kakashi and Shikamaru were out of surgery. "Going to their room Tsunade checked their status. "How are they?" She asked the doctor. "Fine Lady Hokage." The doctor replied. "Though I have found something interesting. Sakura told me that they were infused with chakra to save them. I used my Byakugan and noticed that their levels are enormous. Whatever happened with the enemy chakra it seems like it as melded with their actual chakra increasing their levels tremendously." The doctor explained. "I see. What about their physical injuries?" Tsunade asked. "They'll be able to resume missions in about two weeks." The doctor replied. "I see, I'll take a look at them in a few days and let them rest for now." Tsunade stated. Walking out of the room she saw Asuma, Choji, and Ino waiting in the hall. "How are they Lady Hokage?" Asuma asked. "They'll be fine but for now need rest they can receive visits tomorrow." Tsunade told them. "What happened?" Choji asked. "Their mission got rough but thankfully Naruto and Sakura were able to save them." Tsunade replied. "We'll be sure to bring flowers and tasty treats tomorrow." Ino smiled.

Later that night Tsunade called Naruto and Sakura to her office with news from the captives. "Seems like the Akatsuki is planning on gaining the Jinjuriki from the five great villages and Orochimaru gaining test subjects." Tsunade informed them. "We also just received word that the 5th Kazekage has been kidnapped." Tsunade sighed. "5th Kazekage? Who's the Sand Village Leader now?" Naruto asked. Gaara is." Tsunade replied. "What?! We have to save him! Now!" Naruto yelled. "Calm down. I'm sending you two along with someone else." Tsunade said as a knock came from the door. "Enter." Tsunade called out. The door opened up and revealed a tall man with spiky hair. "This is Captain Yamato. He'll be your team leader on this mission. You leave now." Tsunade declared. "We will move with swiftness Lady Hokage." Yamamoto said in a deep voice. The three shinobi then vanished.

Moving through the trees at high speeds the trio made a b-line for the Hidden Sand Village. "So Captain Yamato what's the plan?" Naruto asked. "We meet up with the Sand Shinobi and coordinate with them. I will propose a small squad with us included as too many will slow us down and be a detriment to the cause." Yamato replied. "Sounds good to me." Sakura stated. "Can't believe Gaara became the Kazekage. I've got to catch up." Naruto chuckled.

After a couple of hours they reached the Sand Village and went straight for the medical center. There they found several sand shinobi who were injured trying to save Gaara. In one of the beds was Kankuro gravely wounded. Seeing if she could help, Sakura walked to his bed. Examining him she pointed out things the nurses could do. After a while they asked her to take over. Finding Temari, Naruto and Yamato went to her to get the rundown of a counter assault. " Well we've tracked them to a cave just outside the village. We plan on moving out at dawn. I got word that another one of your teams is meeting us there. Team Guy I think they said." Temari told them. "Good. Guy Sensei's team is pretty strong with all of us there they won't be able to handle us." Naruto grinned.

"You're quite the medic." A voice said from behind Sakura. Turning around she saw a short elderly lady standing there. "Thank you, I was trained by Lady Tsunade." Sakura replied. "I see, so you're a disciple of the Legendary Sannin explains a lot." Your skills will be helpful tomorrow. I'm Lady Chiyo it's nice to meet you." She said. The next day went and saved Gaara

Returning to Konoha, Naruto and Sakura went to debrief on the mission and afterwards went to relax. "So where you want to go?" Naruto asked. " We can go to Ichiraku Ramen. I know how much you love that place." Sakura grinned. "Oh yeah! Believe it!" Naruto yelled with glee and hugging Sakura. "Called down!" Sakura said bopping Naruto on the head. Heading out the two friends went and got some ramen. "Good to see you again!" Teuchi gleamed seeing Naruto. "Likewise! I've missed this place." Naruto said as his meal was being prepared. "So what do you think our next mission will be?" Sakura asked. "I don't know as long as it helps me get stronger." Naruto stated firmly. Looking at him, Sakura saw that Naruto truly had changed. "We'll both get stronger and bring down the Akatsuki. After that we'll bring Sasuke back home." Sakura smiled. "Damn right!" Naruto agreed.

The next morning Yamato, Naruto, and Sakura were summoned to the Hokage's office. Entering in, Sakura and Naruto waited with anticipation to see what their mission would be. "I have big news for you two." Tsunade said with great intensity. "Well spill it Granny!" Naruto said impatiently. " We have intel on Orochimaru." Tsunade said. "When do we leave?!" Sakura asked with great haste. "Right now. Enter!" Tsunade called out. As the door of her office opened a shinobi walked in. "This Sai. Sai will be your new teammate for the time being." Tsunade informed them. "Cool. Let's go!" Naruto said making a b—line for the window. "HOLD IT!" Tsunade yelled. "You're dealing with Orochimaru. You must be extremely careful. If things go south you are to retreat. That's an order." Tsunade growled "Understood Lady Hokage." Yamato assured her. "MOVE OUT!" Tsunade bellowed. With swiftness they all vanished. Going to the last known location they started their mission.


	3. Chapter 3

Dashing through the woods Naruto, Sakura, Sai and Yamato were searching for the whereabouts of Orochimaru. While they were walking they found Kabuto at a stream. Hiding behind a couple of trees, they observed him to see which way he would go. Standing up, Kabuto began to walk casually along the stream. Trailing him the three shinobi eagerly waited to see if Orochimaru was around. Sensing that he was being followed Kabuto threw a kunai with an explosion tag and caused a distraction. Moving quickly they gave chase. "Damn he's fast." Naruto huffed. Watching him turn a corner they followed suit and were met by a powerful flame. Leaping back they landed on the ground to see who caused it. As the flames disappeared they saw Orochimaru standing far in front of them with someone on his right. That someone was Sasuke.

Seeing him after all this time made both Naruto and Sakura emotional. Their beloved comrade was in front of them wearing attire similar to Orochimaru. "Sasuke!" Naruto called out. "Well if it isn't the loser Naruto." Sasuke said coldly. Looking to Naruto's left he saw Sakura. "And the crybaby." He added with a smirk. "I see you're still asshole." Naruto growled. With great speed he was in front of them and Naruto and Sakura were on their guard. "Come back to the village." Sakura said softly. "I'm on my own path and it's that of power. Weaklings like you won't understand." Sasuke told them. "We're bringing you back one way or another." Sakura declared glaring at him. "I'd love to see you try." Sasuke taunted. Before he knew it, Sasuke was almost bashed in the face with Sakura's fist.

Dodging the blow he dashed back impressed with her speed. "You've been doing some training." He smirked. "Damn right! Sakura said leaping into the air and bringing down her leg. Moving out of the way Sasuke watched as her leg hit the ground and caused it to explode. Seeing this left Sasuke speechless. "Seems like you've trained with Tsunade." Orochimaru observed. Hearing this made Sasuke get serious. "Well then I guess I'll have to try a little." Sasuke snipped. Leaping into the air Sakura ignited her fingertips. "Phoenix Shot." She whispered and threw ten spheres of fire at Sasuke. Dodging them he watched as they exploded greatly. Before Sasuke could fully react, Naruto was beside him and nearly clocked him in the head. "You're faster too." Sasuke smirked. "And you're cocky as ever." Naruto retorted.

The two clashed in Taijutsu with Sasuke having a slight advantage. Kicking Naruto in the torso, Sasuke sent him soaring back. With this Sakura jumped in and unleashed a plethora of attacks. Dodging them all, Sasuke admired her prowess. Pushing back and making hand signs Sasuke released a jutsu. Fire Style: Grand Fireball Jutsu. Releasing the flames he aimed to roast Sakura alive. Reacting quickly Sakura slammed her hand on the ground and countered his attack. Earth Style: Stone Knight Jutsu. The great earth jutsu shielded her from the flames. Drawing chakra into his throat, Naruto exhaled attacked Sasuke. Fire Style: Fire Claw Jutsu. Flames propelled from Naruto's mouth in the shape of a giant claw and engulfed Sasuke. Releasing his chakra, Sasuke created a blast of lightning to shield and free himself and counter. Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu. Blasting Naruto with flames, Sasuke seared Naruto and sent him to the ground.

Igniting her hand, Sakura leaped and attacked Sasuke. Phoenix Fist. Swinging at Sasuke, Sakura caused him to counter with a fire jutsu of his own to keep himself from being roasted. However Sakura went right through it and nearly blasted a hole in Sasuke. "That's some jutsu you got there." Sasuke panted landed on the ground. Lowering his hand he activated the Chidori and charged Sakura. Using another Phoenix Fist the two clashed jutsus and created a force wave sending both flying back. Jumping into the air Naruto caught Sakura saving her from a deadly fall. "You alright?" He asked "Yeah thanks." Sakura sighed. Throwing a kunai Naruto aimed it at Sasuke's head who blocked it with his sword. Suddenly everything became hazy to Sasuke. Seeing an opportunity Sakura rushed him and managed to smack his neck. Countering he sent her flying to his left, when suddenly he noticed his movements were shot. His vision slowly became inverted and his body not responding in the correct way.

"Damn that's Tsunade's jutsu, he needs back up." Kabuto said rushing forward. He was then stopped by a large wood barrier and a tiger made of ink. "Hmm seems like you're able to use the Mukon like the First Lord Hokage. You must be one of my experiments, and here I thought you all passed away." Orochimaru observed. "The battle is between them. If you are to fight your opponent will be us." Yamato declared. " Hope you're ready to die." Sai said coldly.

Sasuke was having trouble seeing with his Sharingan. Taking advantage of the moment Sakura and Naruto rushed him. His body wasn't moving the way it was supposed to and he couldn't perceive or predict their movements causing for heavy blows to land their marks. Seeing an opportunity to cripple him more, Sakura activated her own Genjutsu. Sasuke in his confusion felt chills take hold of him unexpectedly. Looking he saw Itachi standing in his midst. His brother was inching his way closer to him. Sasuke charged and they began to fight, but Itachi's advance skill angered Sasuke which caused his chakra to fluctuate between his normal one and the curse mark. With this both Genjutsu were broken and his movements partially restored. "You bitch. You'll pay for that one." Sasuke roared before receiving a kick to the jaw by Naruto. "Don't ever call her that!" He growled.

Regaining full motor skills, Sasuke rushed the two of them and begun to release incredible Taijutsu. Naruto managed to get in three hits on Sasuke, while Sakura was getting blocked more often. Sasuke made sure to protect himself from her deadly strength. Putting distance between them Sasuke did a couple of hand signs he sent forth a jutsu. Lightning style: Bolo lightning jutsu. Hurling a lightning bolos at them, Sasuke aimed it between them as it shocked both of Sakura and Naruto and stunned them a bit. "Nice one." Naruto said grinning. Making a couple of hand signs and clapping his hands together he focused his chakra. Ninja art: Leaf storm jutsu. All the leaves around them made a b-line for Sasuke at break neck speed. Taking his sword, Sasuke attempted to slash all the leaves and only got 85% of them with the rest slices Sasuke around his body. With great haste Sakura did hand signs and caused a dragon head to rise out of the earth. Secret Earth style: Diamond blast jutsu. Bombarding Sasuke with diamonds, Sakura did her best to bring down her old comrade.

Dodging some of the diamonds, Sasuke recovered and was greatly irritated. How could they be so strong? I should be better than them. I am better than them. Sasuke thought. Charging up his chakra into his sword he unleashed a powerful lightning jutsu. Chidori shot. Bringing down his sword he sent a large blast of lightning at high speeds scrapping Sakura and hitting Naruto hard. "Shit." Naruto huffed. Jumping into the air he gathered chakra into his hands and swung down in an "x" formation. Wind style: Razor wind jutsu. Releasing highly pressured and sharp wind Naruto propelled it at Sasuke. Dodging Sasuke watched as the ground was ripped to shreds. "You two have created some rather destructive and powerful jutsu. I'm impressed." Sasuke smirked. "Same for you. why don't you come back with us?" Sakura asked. "Because this is my path not. I don't need to be tied down with such weakness. I need power." Sasuke smiled with an evil grin. "You're freaking insane." Sakura said using the Body Flicker Jutsu to get close and kicked Sasuke hard in the torso and sent him into a tree.

"I've had it with both of you." Sasuke roared getting up. Cutting the palm on his right hand Sasuke started to make hand signs. "Shit he's about to do a summon." Naruto noticed following suit. Looking to his left he noticed Sakura doing the same. "Summoning Jutsu!" The three called out. Smoke arose all around them. Orochimaru, Kabuto, Sai, and Yamato all gazed in awe as they saw the Three Way Deadlock. Looking up they saw Sasuke on King Manda, Sakura on Queen Katsuyu, and Naruto on Lord Gamabunta.


	4. Chapter 4

"Normally I'd scowl you Uchiha brat for summoning me, however seeing as these two are my opponents I'll make an exception." Manda hissed. "Hmm you again, great way to ruin my day." Gamabunta groaned as he exhaled smoke from his mouth after taking a puff from his pipe. "This situation is very dire ma'am. You'll have to very careful when dealing with Manda." Katsuyu told Sakura. "I've been told stories about him from Lady Tsunade. Hopefully she was exaggerating a bit." Sakura replied. "Enough talk!" Sasuke yelled. Charging Manda and Sasuke attacked Naruto, Sakura, Gamabunta, and Katsuyu. Leaping into the air Gamabunta dodged Manda's bite. Katsuyu sent out a wave of acid and managed to hit Manda partially. "I need oil Chief!" Naruto yelled. "Gotcha." Gamabunta replied. The two both exhaled with Gamabunta shooting out oil and Naruto his Fire Claw jutsu. As they combined they created a Giant Fire Claw Jutsu. The flames engulfed Manda and Sasuke. Suddenly they disappeared and reemerged from the ground with Manda wrapping himself around Katsuyu and squeezing tightly. Katsuyu separated to escape and Sakura leaped towards Sasuke and managed to punch him in the face sending him flying. Reconstituting Katsuyu went to help Sakura and got bit by Manda. "Damn." She grunted. Coming from nowhere Gamabunta charged in with his blade and gave Manda a severe wound, but not before he sliced Gamabunta on the side. Naruto and Sasuke jumped into the air and engaged each other while Gamabunta and Manda wrestled with one another. Soon the skirmish was over and Naruto was back atop Gamabunta and Sasuke on top of Manda. Katsuyu and Sakura a combined attack with acid and fire. Seeming his Manda and Sasuke shot an attack of lightning and wind and offset the assault. After a couple of minutes all three summons suffered great wounds from one another.

"Damn, I knew I shouldn't have come. You and Orochimaru will pay for these wounds dearly." Manda hissed before vanishing. "Queen Katsuyu, thank you for your help." Sakura said bowing. "You're quite welcome." Katsuyu responded letting Sakura down before leaving. "I'll leave the rest to you kid. "Gamabunta huffed as he put Naruto on the ground and left.

"I'll admit you two actually impressed me sorry it's time for all of this to end." Sasuke grinned. Suddenly his curse mark began to take hold and black and purple chakra surrounded him. Seeing this Naruto asked for chakra from the Nine Tailed Fox. "Glad I still have chakra for this." Sakura sighed. Focusing she was suddenly surrounded by a fiery aura. "The hell is that?" Sasuke asked. "This is Moeru." Sakura replied. Vanishing from his sight, Sakura reappeared next to Sasuke and kicked him into the air. Naruto leaped above him and sent him back to the ground. Sasuke recovered and landed on his feet. Sakura and Naruto then rushed him putting him on the defensive.

The battle went on for a few minutes with the terrain being destroyed from the shockwaves. "Damn it all to hell!" Sasuke roared. "Flame Dragon Jutsu!" He shot a blaze of fire into the air causing the clouds to darken. Summoning his chakra he focused the storm above. "He's going to use that jutsu…damn we better move." Kabuto said nervously. He and Orochimaru went to take cover while Yamato and Sai did the same in the opposite direction.

Swirling his chakra, Naruto summoned a sphere of wind in front of him. "Whirling Fox." Naruto exhaled. Jumping up on a rock Sakura's aura grew to colossal size. "Phoenix Destruction." She declared. All around her the aura created a Phoenix shaped flame. Sakura then fired it at Sasuke. Releasing his sphere Naruto propelled a giant wind fox head towards Sasuke. Bringing down his Jutsu Sasuke fired an enormous lighting dragon with his mouth open and raging. "Kirin!" Sasuke bellowed. The three jutsus collided creating a gargantuan explosion. Yamato created a giant barrier out of wood shielding him and Sai. "Those three are monsters." Sai expressed. "You can say that again. I can't believe they are that this level at such a young age." Yamato commented.

"My goodness such progress they've had in only two years. My fellow Sannin really trained those two well." Orochimaru stated walking out from behind the barrier that Kabuto put up. "I'll say. If Naruto was at that level when we fought last time we wouldn't be here." Kabuto spat. As all four were looking at the battlefield they saw movement. Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura were all getting up.

"Damn that was hell of a blast." Naruto grinned. "I don't have much chakra left, what about you?" Sakura asked breathing heavily. " Not really. Kind of tired." Naruto admitted. "This will be it." Sasuke declared. "Oh really?" Naruto asked. "Yeah. Time for this fight to be brought to a close. I have more important things to do then deal with the likes of you two. I must kill someone." Sasuke said with his Sharingan blazing and the last of his chakra flowing in his left hand as he formed the Chidori. "Alright then." Naruto said intensely as he formed the Rasengan in his right hand. "One last shot." Sakura grinned as she prepared her Phoenix Claw. The three shinobi darted at one another and all three jutsu collided. A small explosion blasted them away in opposite directions and they all passed out.

Rushing towards them Orochimaru and kabuto went to Sasuke, while Yamato and Sai went to Naruto and Sakura. "They need medical aid." Sai observed. "Dammit we have to hurry." Yamato said picking up Naruto and Sai taking Sakura. The two darted off with all the speed and made a clean escape. "Should I pursue them Lord Orochimaru?" Kabuto asked. "No, Sasuke is far more important than them. He must be saved." Orochimaru said with haste. Following his orders Kabuto grabbed Sasuke and fled with his master.

Using his jutsu, Sai created a giant eagle for them to ride on and make a fast flight to Konoha. After an hour they came in soaring from the sky and landed right at the hospital. Rushing inside they brought Naruto and Sakura to the emergency room. Bursting in Tsunade saw them both out cold. "What the hell happened?!" She demanded to know. "The two of them and Sasuke Uchiha got into a glorious battle. The three of them destroyed the terrain with incredible jutsu and fought valiantly. The four of us were in awe of their abilities. They did one final assault and it resulted in them passing out. We left to get them healing while Orochimaru and Kabuto did the same for Sasuke." Yamato explained. "I see. I'll get started on them both right away." Tsunade said going into the operation room.

After a couple of hours Tsunade exited the room. "How are they?" Yamato asked. "They'll be fine. They're chakra was low and some bones were cracked and muscles torn. They really did number on Sasuke." Tsunade explained. "That they did." Sai said. "What do you want us to do in the mean time?" he asked. "I need you to go on a recovery mission. It'll be quick." Tsunade said gesturing for an attendant to come towards them. "Take this, it'll have all the information you need." Tsunade said. "Understood." Yamato said as they left.

"Heard that they had a close call." A voice said from behind Tsunade. Turning around she saw Kakashi standing there. "That they did but I managed to get them out of danger." Tsunade stated. "Glad to hear that. Can I see them?" Kakashi asked. "Certainly just be brief." Tsunade instructed him.

Going into the recovery room, Kakashi saw Naruto and Sakura. "You two ok?" Kakashi asked. "Yeah Sensei just peachy." Naruto groaned. "Well someone must be feeling better with all those jokes." Kakashi chuckled. "That's Naruto for you." Sakura smiled. "What happened out there?" Kakashi asked. "We fought Sasuke. He's gotten insanely strong. If we hadn't train as hard as we did we would be dead." Sakura declared. "I see. So it's going to take a lot to get through to him then." Kakashi sighed. "Don't worry Sensei we'll get him back. Believe it!" Naruto exclaimed wincing a little. "Alright I'm going to leave you two to rest." Kakashi said walking out the door. After a week and a half Team 7 was back in action.


	5. Chapter 5

Out in the fields Sakura was training with her Moeru. She focused her chakra and activated the jutsu. The flames around her were strong and fierce and they surround her from four inches from her body. "Moeru: level two." Sakura said. The flaming aura grew larger and hotter. "Moeru: level three!" Sakura growled. The flames increased in size and intensity once more this time whips of fire came off of her at random spots striking the surrounding area. "Moeru: level four!" Sakura shouted. The flames then erupted out and caused the ground to break and quake. The heat began to radiate off her body and caused the temperature around her to rise. In the far distance Neji sensed the jutsu and could slowly feel the effects. "What's wrong Neji?" Lee asked. "Do you feel that heat?" Neji asked. "Yeah, something is happening." Lee replied. Darting off the two rushed to Sakura's direction. After a few short minutes they found her standing in the field with the flames raging and roaring and that Sakura was trying to rein them in. She then collapsed to ground and deactivated the jutsu.

"Sakura!" Lee shouted running to her aid. Reaching down he helped her up. "Thanks." Sakura breathed tiredly. "What on earth was that?" Lee asked. "It's a jutsu I developed called Moeru. It's an aura of fire and chakra that increases my endurance, speed, and strength by a multiple of four for the first level. Eight for the second level, twelve for the third, and sixteen for the fourth level." Sakura explained. "Incredible. That is quite the jutsu. It combines Ninjutsu and Taijutsu." Neji commented. "Yeah, but it's not refined. I'm trying to compress it more and stabilize it. That way I can use it longer and maybe even create a fifth level." Sakura sighed. "You're going to have to put that on hold. You need to see a doctor. As a medical ninja I'm sure you'd agree." Neji stated eyeing her with his Byakugan. "Yeah you're right." Sakura agreed.

The two then escorted her to the hospital and let the medics take over. "Will she be ok?" Lee asked one of the nurses. "Yes, she just needs rest." The nurse smiled. "I understand. I shall return tomorrow." Lee said leaving. Later that evening, Tsunade came and visited Sakura. "Hey there." She said entering Sakura's room. "Hello Lady Tsunade. How are you doing?" Sakura asked. "I'm well. I'm more concerned how you are." Tsunade stated. "I'm fine, just over did it a bit is all." Sakura smiled. "What the hell were you working on?" Tsunade inquired. " A jutsu I developed called Moeru. I created it not that long ago. I used it against Sasuke when I and Naruto battled him. It allowed me to keep up with his curse mark powers." Sakura stated. "I see. Impressive, I'd like to see it in action one day. When you've gotten a better control over it of course." Tsunade smiled. "I will Lady Hokage." Sakura giggled. Bidding her farewell, Tsunade left and went to her office.

Sitting in her chair she let out a loud sigh. Eyeing he desk she saw all of the paperwork that she had to get done. "Damn this work is too much for one person." Tsunade grunted. Tackling the work, she got started and read the reports from various missions. After an hour and a half she received a visitor. "What do you want?" She hissed at the window behind her. Stepping into her office from the outside was her old friend Jiraiya. "Hey there beautiful." He smiled. "Go away! I have paperwork to do." Tsunade growled. "I can see that. Glad I don't have your job. I'd Rasengan the hell out of any shinobi who gave me too much paperwork." Jiraiya laughed even though he was dead serious. "I do appreciate how concise and to the point you are in your reports." Tsunade grinned weakly. "You're quite welcome." Jiraiya said going to a chair on the side of her desk. "So, how has everything been in the village?" Jiraiya asked seriously. "Stable for the most part. Just trying to keep our relations with other villages strong as well as keep our citizens safe. I've also changed a couple of things in the academy. Each student is to be taught the Flame Bullet Jutsu since it doesn't matter if you have fire nature chakra." Tsunade stated. "Good idea, doesn't take a lot of chakra and it's a good jutsu for offense." Jiraiya commented. "So how was your mission looking into the Akatsuki?" Tsunade asked. "Pretty good. I've gotten some details on their goals and it seems like they are trying to wake something up. I don't know what but I have contacts feeding me intel whenever they can." Jiraiya sighed. "That's good to hear." Tsunade said getting up. "I'm done for the night we should get a drink." Tsunade smiled. "Sure thing." Jiraiya expressed. The two left and went for a drink for the rest of the night till they got tired and turned in.

The next morning Tsunade requested for Hinata and Tenten to meet her in the Hokage Office. Entering the office the young Chunin walked up to Tsunade's desk and stood ready to receive their orders. Tenten had on a white semi long sleeved shirt and red pants and her hair in two buns. Hinata had on purple pants a grey shirt and a purple and gray jacket. "There have been sightings of Sound Ninja in a small village a couple of days away from here. Orochimaru is planning something devious and we need to stop him." Tsunade informed them. "What exactly are they looking for?" Tenten asked. "Probably sacred scrolls that were sealed away their long ago. Scrolls that have information on extremely dangerous information that could put all villages at risk." Tsunade replied. "When do we leave Lady Hokage?" Hinata asked. "As soon as your team leader gets here." Tsunade responded. They then heard a knock at the door. "Enter." Tsunade commanded.

The door opened up and revealed Sakura. She was wearing black pants and a pink shirt. Over her shirt she had a dark pink haori that reached slightly above her ankles with the kanji for phoenix on the back. "Sorry I'm late." Sakura apologized. "You're just in time. You'll be leading the team. Your mission is to secure a scroll from Sound Ninja soldiers located in a village a couple of days away. Go with swiftness." Tsunade ordered handing Sakura the information she would need. "Understood." Sakura nodded as the three of them vanished.

The three went to each of their homes to get supplies and then moved out to complete their mission. "So what do we really know about these Sound Ninjas?" Hinata asked. "Well they excel in Ninjutsu and Taijutsu but that doesn't mean we shouldn't worry about Genjutsu. We need to keep our guard up and stay vigilant." Sakura stated. After a couple of hours they stopped to rest and eat. "So what's it like training with Lady Tsunade?" Tenten asked. "Pretty rough, she doesn't hold back and demands your best." Sakura replied. "Sounds intense." Hinata smiled. "So have you two created any jutsus of your own?" Sakura asked. "I have a few under my sleeve." Tenten stated. "Neat, what about you Hinata?" Sakura inquired. "I've created two new jutsus so far. I hope to create at least three more, to become a better and better-rounded warrior." She said softly. "Awesome hopefully these Sound Ninja can give us a challenge." Tenten snickered. After a while they went to sleep and set up a security system encase anyone tried to attack.

As they awoke the trio moved out once more and covered more ground than expected and eventually made it to the village in a few hours. As they entered the village Sakura ordered them to split up to search faster and seek out the Sound Ninja. Walking through the village Tenten watched as the people mingled with each other with smiles on their faces. The market place was filled with shoppers and the park filled with children. Tenten kept her eye out for anyone who seemed out of place.

In other parts of the village Hinata was watching a performance in a courtyard. It was a dance put on by villagers and very beautiful. She watched for a while before resuming her search for the Sound Ninja. While she was going through the residential area of the village she noticed a four people acting strange and watching over their shoulders. Walking discretely she followed them for a while to the point they met up with two more of their allies and bolted. Darting after them Hinata sent up a signal to Tenten and Sakura to let them know she had found them. The six Sound Ninjas ran with great speed and tried to escape but were cut off by Tenten. The six enemy ninjas took off their disguises and revealed their Sound Ninja attire with masks covering their mouths and head pieces over their heads.

"So it looks like the Leaf has caught up to our business." One of the Sound Ninja spat. "Just give up now." Tenten declared with a katana in her hand. Two of the Sound Ninja launched at her with kunais and clashed with her blade. Two of the other ones leaped at Hinata who activated her Byakugan and intercepted their attacks. "Eight Trigrams: White Tiger Strike." Hinata stated sending forth her hand and releasing a tiger aura that struck the two in some their chakra points sealing them up in a matter of seconds. "Damn you." One of them grunted. They then engaged her in Taijutsu and were soon put on the defensive.

The final two Sound Ninja tried to escape but were halted by Sakura. They tried to bypass her only to be halted by her Stone Knight Jutsu. "Enough of this. Ninja Art: Sound Shot Jutsu!" One of them punched the air and sent out a bolt of sound that struck Sakura and pushed her back. "Earth style: Rock Bullet Barrage." The second Sound Ninja activated another jutsu to hit Sakura with sending out a barrage of sharp rock bolts towards her. "Fire Style: Fire Wing." Sakura declared swinging her right arm releasing a wing of fire to protect herself.

Tenten was holding off both of her attackers with precision and grace. The two shinobi then separated and shot a barrage of shuriken at her. Taking her katana she sliced away all the shuriken and then threw her blade in the air. "Ninja Art: Katana Storm!" Tenten activated her new jutsu and summoned one hundred katana blades upon the Sound Ninja at the speed of sound skewering them to death. "Damn. Thought they'd handle that better." Tenten huffed.

Seeing this Hinata did her best to keep both of hers alive. Reacting quickly she struck them in their chakra points and shut off their chakra completely. In anger they rushed her with fierce punches and kicks. Hinata perceived their attacks and countered them effortlessly. "Eight Trigrams: Elephant Fist!" Hinata shouted. Her fist erupted in the aura of an elephant and propelled into the two knocking them out.

Seeing their comrades defeated the final two Sound Ninja tried their best to kill her. Using her medical ninja training she dodged their attacks and sized them up. With a swift punch to the ground she destroyed it and knocked them off their feet. "Fire Style: Fire Fist." Sakura released twenty fire bullets into the two Sound Ninjas injuring them and solidifying their defeat. "Round them up. We need to get them back to the village. Put the dead ones in seals." Sakura ordered. Tying up the living ones and sealing the two deceased.

Rushing back to the Hidden Leaf they were careful to stay hidden and not attract unwanted attention. Hinata kept in the rear to view everything with her Byakugan. They traveled for a day before stopping for a quick break. "What kind of drug did you give them?" Hinata asked Sakura. "It's a unique sedative that puts them in a coma like state." She replied. "Impressive, that makes them easier to transport." Tenten commented.

At that moment they heard rustling in the bushes near them. Gazing in the direction of the sound, Hinata saw a figure move towards them. Intercepting them with several shuriken, she managed to draw them out in the open. The attacker was a woman with medium length black hair and a slender figure. She had purple pants and a brown tank top and pale skin. "Who are you?" Tenten asked glaring at her. "I'm one of Lord Orochimaru's commanders, just under Kabuto. My name is Azalen" She said licking her plump limps. " She's an S-Class criminal. She took out a team of five Jonin singlehandedly." Sakura informed her teammates. "You're well informed, though I expect nothing less from a student of Tsunade." Azalen snickered. "What do you want?" Hinata asked glaring at her. "Them of course." Azalen laughed making a mad dash at them.

Sakura quickly intercepted her and engaged her in battle. "Run!" She ordered Tenten and Hinata. the two grabbed the prisoners and bodies and ran off. Azalen attacked Sakura with a fury of punches and kicks at high speeds. The two kunoichi were precise in all of their attacks. Azalen summoned a hoard of shuriken at Sakura only to have them destroyed by a wall of fire. "Secret art: Snake trap." Azalen hissed creating a giant astral snake that went to bite Sakura. Activating Moeru she caught the jaws of the snake and destroyed it with a punch. Sakura then deactivated the jutsu to conserve chakra and charged Azalen once more. Hitting her in the torso with a powerful kick, Sakura sent the commander of Orochimaru flying into a tree.

Recovering quickly Azalen summoned an army of snakes and surrounded Sakura with them and had them shoot poison blades from their mouths to impale Sakura. "Shit! Phoenix Wing Jutsu!" Sakura activated the jutsu and protected herself from the attack. Leaping into the air and stretching on her fingers Sakura countered them all. "Phoenix Shot." Sakura released the jutsu and destroyed all the serpents. Azalen then released a vast amount of chakra and released a sonic wave. Sakura countered it by storing chakra in her ears. "Poison art: Serpent pit!" Azalen summoned several snakes made of pure venom and surrounded Sakura with them. "Moeru: Level 2." Sakura activated her jutsu and blasted through the venom snakes and blasted Azalen in the gut. The two then had another bout of high speed combat that ended in Azalen losing an arm. "Secret art: Acid stream." Sakura then spat a stream of white acid at Azalen that burned and paralyzed her. "Damn that was tough." Sakura sighed picking her up and rushing to rejoin the others.

"You got her, nice." Tenten smiled. "Thanks. Wasn't easy she's pretty tricky. We need to hurry back immediately." Sakura stated. After a couple of hours they finally reached the Hidden Leaf and took them all to the prison. Afterwards they went to check in with Tsunade. "How'd the mission go?" She asked. "Successful Lady Tsunade; we managed to get the scroll and captured four of them. Two of them died in battle. We also caught Azalen the second commander of Orochimaru." Sakura informed her. "You what?! How?!" Tsunade asked flabbergasted. "She tried to retrieve her allies and I stopped her we did battle and I managed to take her out. It was pretty tough. I know I shouldn't ran but given the circumstances I didn't have much choice." Sakura replied. "I understand. She's incredibly powerful and well knowledgeable of Orochimaru. I'll have Ibiki get started on her right away." Tsunade said sternly. "You three did good work." Tsunade smiled. "Sakura is an excellent leader." Hinata commented. "Thanks." Sakura chuckled. "Excellent. I'm glad to hear that. You two are good to go. Sakura I'd like to talk to you about something." Tsunade said. Tenten and Hinata then left and bid Sakura farewell.

"Is there something wrong, Lady Tsunade?" Sakura asked. "Oh not at all. I'm just impressed with your leadership skills and abilities. This is the fifteenth mission that I've had you lead and you excelled. I'm proud of you kiddo. That's why I'm promoting you to Jonin." Tsunade smiled. "Wait what?! Me?!" Sakura said shocked. "Yes. You've earned it. You're an excellent medic and powerful warrior. Your planning and tactics are exceptional." Tsunade told her. "Thank you Lady Tsunade." Sakura cheered.


	6. Chapter 6

Leaving the Hokage Office, Sakura went towards the center of the village. While she was walking she ran into Tenten, Hinata, and Ino. "Hey Sakura what's up?" Ino called out. "Oh hey I'm ok. Just still getting adjusted." Sakura replied with a smile. "Adjusted to what?" Ino asked. "Lady Tsunade just promoted me to Jonin." Sakura smiled. "What? Congratulations! That's amazing Sakura!" Ino cheered. "Wow that's wonderful" Hinata congratulated her. "Way to go you deserve it." Tenten said. "Thanks. I appreciate it." Sakura stated. "Well come on girl we have to go celebrate." Ino said leading her to a restaurant. Finding a table the four kunoichi sat and ordered drinks and food. "So how does it feel?" Ino asked. "Hasn't fully sunk in yet. I was happy at first then in shock." Sakura chuckled. "Well you're going to have a lot more responsibilities now." Tenten stated. "That I'm not looking forward to." Sakura sighed. "Don't worry, you'll excel at it. You're one of the smartest in our generation." Hinata said. "Thanks. I can't wait to see Naruto's face when he finds out." Sakura chuckled. "Oh he's going to be so jealous." Tenten added. "Where is he anyway?" Hinata wondered. "He's on a mission with Shikamaru and Shino." Ino replied. "That's an unusual team, wonder what the mission is?" Sakura inquired. "Heard it's pretty tough but those three will be fine." Ino assured. "Definitely." Hinata agreed. Shortly after their food arrived, and they started to dine and fellowship. After a couple of hours they finished and went home.

* * *

Elsewhere Shikamaru, Naruto, and Shino were on a mission in a distant land. They were tasked with retrieving an ancient artifact for a kingdom. They were sneaking into a criminal fortitude. Naruto was entering through the front, Shikamaru through the side, and Shino taking up the rear. Naruto was casually walking into the fortitude in disguise wearing black pants, a dark shirt, and a cloak with his headband hidden. Observing his surroundings he saw that they were a lot of shady people walking around. Continuing forward he sought out the artifact which was some kind of statue.

In the side section of the building, Shikamaru was trekking through the shadows themselves. He did his best to keep up his new jutsu of Shadow Observation. Eventually he found a room where it looked like a meeting was being conducted. Hiding in the shadows of the room he listened in to gain as much intel as he could. As he was listening he found out they were planning on moving a shipment of stolen goods.

Cloaking himself in insects Shino found himself in a treasure room. He looked through them all and eventually found the statue. Swarming it with insects he lifted the statue and made his escape. Sending out a couple of insects to find Naruto and Shikamaru, he signaled them that he had found the artifact. Leaving the fortitude he found a safe place to wait for his teammates. After a couple of minutes he saw Naruto trekking through the trees. "I'm here." He called out. Jumping down Naruto landed next to Shino and observed the artifact. "Wow this is the thing they wanted back? There has to be something else going on with it, it's so plain." Naruto commented. Right next to him a shadow rose and Shikamaru stepped out. "It's valuable to its owners that's all that matters." Shikamaru hissed. "The hell? Did you just come out of that shadow?" Naruto asked. "Yes I did. Thanks to you my chakra reserves have increased a vast amount and I was able to create some new jutsus using shadows. I can trek through them jumping from one to another." Shikamaru informed him. "Oh cool. You're welcome." Naruto smiled. "Thanks. It helps a lot." Shikamaru replied. " I think we have company." Shino said sensing someone coming. "Yeah about ten of them." Naruto observed.

Ten attacks came from the trees and rained down shuriken at the trio. Raising his shadow, Shikamaru shielded them from the assault. Slamming his fist on the ground Naruto sent out a counter attack. "Fire style: Flaming kunai jutsu." Naruto then released a giant kunai of fire that killed half of the attacks while the others were heavily wounded. "Let's get a move on before more come." Shino stated.

Dashing off they made their way back to the kingdom to return the artifact. Darting from tree to tree they moved with speed and silence. However, there were still some of the criminals following them. Leaving behind key insects, Shino managed to infect them with toxins and knock them out cold. Going further they were cut off by three mercenaries. "I'll hold these guys off while you two get the artifact out of here." Naruto declared. "You better catch up to us." Shikamaru ordered. "I will. Believe it." Naruto smiled.

The three mercenaries attacked and were blocked by Naruto. "Who the hell are you?" One of the mercenaries asked. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki of the Hidden Leaf." He replied taking off his disguise. He revealed his orange and black out fit and a red cloak with black flames on the end. "We're the Syndicate Trio. I'm Zelca." The male mercenary stated. He was tall and had on black pants and no shirt with a large broadsword. The second mercenary was in gray leather with a large lance. The third was in blue with a metal arm. "I'm Mizel." The leather clad one grinned. "And I'm Ledvel." The final one said in a sadistic tone. "Time we take you out." Zelca laughed Rushing Naruto. Pulling out a kunai Naruto clashed with him and they fought in close combat briefly before Mizel joined in and doubled teamed Naruto. With incredible skill he held them both off while Ledvel watched them. Zelca darted back and swung his blade swiftly and released a powerful sharp gust of wind. Dodging, Naruto sent out several shuriken with explosion tags taking out Zelca's left eye. Mizel then activated a powerful earth jutsu that Naruto managed to offset with his fire fox claw jutsu.

"He's pretty quick on his feet." Ledvel observed. Raising his metal arm he fired a blast fire at Naruto. "Earth Style: Graveling Bear Jutsu." Naruto activated a counter in the form a large bear that took the flames head on and attack Ledvel. He battled the bear for a short while for destroying it and joining his comrades against Naruto. Surrounded by the three of them Naruto observed their movements and countered them précising. He then threw three shurikens with one hitting each of them mildly. The three then proceeded to charge him only to find everything inverted. "The hell happened?!" Zelca grunted. "Oh nothing that concerns you." Naruto grinned. Naruto dove into the three of them and started to wail them with Taijutsu. Their confusion made everything easier. The Syndicate Trio eventually fought through the Genjutsu and launched a powerful conjoined attack of wind, fire, and earth. "Fire style: Flaming Kunai Jutsu." Activating his jutsu Naruto blocked the attack and darted back for a second counter. "Ninja art: Leaf Storm Jutsu." All the leaves from the surrounding trees flooded the trio and slashed them deeply.

Ledvel tried to attack again, charging furiously at Naruto he was met with a Rasengan to the stomach and sent flying into a tree out cold. Zelca then jammed his sword into the ground and sent forth an energy blast that Naruto counted with his whirling fox jutsu and defeating Zelca. Mizel dashed madly at Naruto and gave into his anger attacking sloppily. In his anger he began to radiate in silver chakra. Naruto called upon the chakra of the Nine Tails to counter it and managed to defeat him in three moves. "The hell kind of chakra was that." Naruto wondered. Summoning a scroll he used sealing art to trap them inside and transport them.

Catching up with the others he joined them in returning to the kingdom. Going to the castle they brought the artifact to the king. "Thank you very much. We owe the Hidden Leaf a great deal." The King said happily. "It was our pleasure." Shino said bowing. "We are forever in your debt. Thank you again." The King smiled. The trio then left for the Hidden Leaf. After a couple of hours they made it back and gave the scrolls to Ibiki so he could interrogate the Syndicate Trio. "They say they're part of some Syndicate." Naruto told him. "Syndicate?" Ibiki asked. "Yeah they called themselves the Syndicate Trio." Naruto replied. "The Syndicate Trio? These men our wanted by all five of the great nations. They are said to be in league with the Akatsuki. I'll do my best in getting information from them." Ibiki declared.

* * *

Going to the Hokage Office they met with Tsunade. "Hey Granny we're back." Naruto said barging into Tsunade's office. "I know I heard from down the hall. You're loud as hell." Tsunade grunted. "We retrieved the artifact and returned it to the kingdom." Shino said. "We also got attacked by some mercenaries. Naruto captured them and brought them back here." Shikamaru informed her. "Apparently they're big shots even though I've never heard of them. Call themselves the Syndicate Trio." Naruto said. "Wait seriously! You got them. Great job. Shikamaru you are returning to Team 10 for a mission. Asuma is waiting for you outside. Shino you have work at the academy." Tsunade informed them. They bid everyone goodbye and left. "Anything for me Granny?" Naruto asked. "Yes we have a lead on the Akatsuki. You're joining a team of three led by Sakura." Tsunade informed him. "Awesome, when do we leave?" Naruto asked. "Soon as they arrive." Tsunade told him.

After a couple of minutes the door opened and revealed Hinata and Sakura. "Oh good you're back it's about time." Sakura huffed. "Oh quiet Shorty." Naruto said sticking his tongue out at her. "Stop it you two. I swear it's like you were separated at birth." Tsunade sighed. "Now your mission is to go into the Seaside Village and gather intel. We believe there are some spies from the Akatsuki operating there as well as some new recruits." Tsunade stated. "They have new members named Taizen the Thunder, Ulqui of a thousand hands, and Gilzo the berserker. They are all very powerful S-Class shinobi and very dangerous. Be extra careful. If you have the opportunity to take them out do so. Naruto, Sakura is in charge and the ranking member as she's a Jonin now. Listen to her orders." Tsunade instructed him with piercing eyes. "Don't worry Granny I will. Wait? Jonin?! Augh congrats Shorty now all you have to do is eat your vegetables and your height will catch up with your rank." Naruto teased. "Oh hush you." Sakura growled irritated as Hinata giggled. "Alright, here's your intel. Be swift and come back alive. You have two days." Tsunade told them. "What happens in two days?" Naruto asked. "I send Jiraiya, Kakashi, and Guy after you." Tsunade replied. "Well damn Granny isn't that a bit much." Naruto gasped. "What? I just want to make sure you're safe." Tsunade argued. "Um safe Lady Hokage would be sending Neji, Shizune, Kiba, and Choji as a rescue team. You're sending a death squad with all due respect." Hinata stated. "I said what I said. They will come for you after two days." Tsunade growled stomping her foot causing the room to shake. "Alright you don't have to be a cranky old lady." Naruto huffed. "Just get out of here already." Tsunade said gesturing for them to leave.

Moving with great speed they prepared for their mission and then left for the Seaside Village. Along the way Hinata found the courage to ask Naruto about his training with Jiraiya. "So what was it like training with Master Jiraiya?" Hinata asked. "Oh it was pretty cool. I found out a bit about my clan as well as invented some new jutsus. I also improved my chakra control and Taijutsu." Naruto answered. "That's great." Hinata smiled blushing. "What about you?" Naruto asked. "I developed two jutsus on my own and improved my Taijutsu and Byakugan skills." Hinata replied. "Excellent can't wait to see you in action." Naruto smiled which caused Hinata to blush even more.

After a while they came to a small town a stopped at an inn. "We'll have two rooms please." Sakura told the inn keeper. The keeper then handed her two keys and Sakura passed one of them to Naruto. Going up the stairs they found their room and Naruto met with the others in theirs to talk over the plan. "So how do you want to play this?" Naruto asked Sakura as he plopped in a chair and started eating some ramen. "I believe we need to observe first and see what they are doing first and foremost. After that if we have the opportunity to deal with them we do. The spies should be captured and the members taken out since they are newcomers and the spies could have been working for years. The information they could have is possibly vast. We'll need to bring the in for interrogation so we can be better prepared against the Akatsuki in the future." Sakura explained. "That would be the best course of action. We will have to go in the village like we're passing through and possibly act a little rowdy so we don't seem like we're on business. That way they may not really pay attention to us." Hinata suggested. "That could work, we'd just have to play it just right to not make it obvious. Good idea Hinata." Naruto said. "Thank you Naruto." Hinata giggled. "Hey! Don't hog all the ramen." Sakura piped getting her share of some. "Oh stop fussing." Naruto grunted. "You want some Hinata?" Naruto asked. "Um yes that would be nice. Thank you." She said with rose red cheeks. Fixing her a plate, Naruto handed her some dinner.

"So what do you think we should add to the plan Naruto?" Hinata asked. "I think it's a great plan. Maybe have a specific way we draw them out. And match up the best opponents for the Akatsuki members so that we definitely succeed." Naruto suggested. "Hmm that is a great point. You can handle Gilzo Naruto. Hinata you can handle Ulqui and I will take Taizen that way we can have the best chance against them." Sakura assured her team. "Alright, I got this believe it." Naruto grinned. "Well I'm going to go hit the hay. Goodnight." Naruto said cleaning up his mess and going to his room.

In the morning the trio made their way to the Seaside Village and eventually made it there in about four hours. Arriving at the village they split up and site saw the area. Hinata went to a nice little shop and looked around acting like she was going to buy a gift. Sakura visited the village museum to see about the history of their people and casually looked to see if anyone was acting suspicious. Naruto was outside walking around the market place to get a couple of things and watch the shoppers. While he was doing that he noticed there were a couple of people putting things down and others picking them up casually.

Naruto looked passed them to see if there was anything he could walk to and act like it was his destination. Finding a dessert cart, he walked towards it while keeping the suspects in his line of sight. The suspects were exchanging small papers throughout the market and one of them got suspicious of Naruto. They then picked up speed while Naruto kept his gait as to not give himself away but discretely created a shadow clone to follow him closely from the roof. The suspected spy then darted inside a building. Naruto walked passed it and went to the dessert cart. He looked at a couple of items and picked a cupcake, bought it, and continued along his way.

The suspect then went to a room inside the building and revealed himself as a spy and made contact with the three members of the Akatsuki. "What the hell are you doing?" Taizen asked harshly. "I think there are ninjas here to capture us." The spy replied in a panic. "And you let him right to us." Gilzo roared punching the spy through the wall and out the building. Hearing this Hinata and Sakura leaped to get to the location. Gilzo went to escape the village but was then punched in the face by Naruto and landed on the ground. "Going somewhere?" Naruto growled glaring at him. Taizen tried to attack Nruto from behind but was caught by Sakura and sent flying out of the village towards a clearing near the sea. Ulqui tried to escape with the spies, but was halted by Hinata. She knocked out the spies and then confronted Ulqui.

"So the Hidden Leaf is here. Just after we took out shinobi from the Hidden Clouds we get more victims." Gilzo said licking his lips. "You all will be good practice." Taizen growled as he charged his fist with lightning. He charged Sakura who tossed him to the distance, so they could have room to fight. Taizen did his best to land a hit on Sakura, but her medical ninja training made her a difficult target. Ignited her finger tips in her right hand; she activated her Phoenix Shot Jutsu and managed to mildly injure Taizen. In retaliation he produced an aura of lightning around his body that increased his speed and strength. Sakura had to be extra cautious as to not be caught off guard.

Hinata and Ulqui were engaged in high speed Taijutsu. Hinata observed his unusual style and saw why he had the nickname a thousand hands. With her Gentle Fist she was able to keep up a steady defense and strike precise points in order to slow him down. "Fist of Fury!" Ulqui bellowed has he charged up his fists and sent out hundreds of shockwaves through his punches. "Rotation!" Hinata countered his attack with a defense and held out for the entire assault. "Eight Trigram: Lion Fist." Launching the attack Hinata's fist was engulfed by the head of a lion and sent Ulqui flying back. She noticed citizens of the village were watching the battle. "Please stay back and get to safety." She pleaded. "Worry about yourself." Ulqui spat as he tried to punch her in the torso only to be blocked and hit in the ribcage.

Jumping back he released his chakra and took a stance. "Secret Art: Iron Fist Assault." Ulqui grinned madly and attacked Hinata with blinding speed and hit her several times and sent her to the ground. Getting up Hinata had a look of determination and wrath. "Eight Trigrams: 64 Lion Palms!" Hinata combined her lion fist with the 64 palm technique and bombarded Ulqui with ferocious blows closing his chakra points and injuring organs and bones. "Damn you." Ulqui coughed up blood and fell to his knees.

Naruto and Gilzo were engaged in a fierce battle of Ninjutsu. Gilzo was using high level earth and water jutsu. Naruto countered the attacks with fire and wind jutsus. "Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu." Gilzo launched the attack at Naruto who flipped and jumped around trying to avoid it. "Wind Style: Tornado Wall." Naruto blocked the dragon and caused water spread in the air causing a light mist. Using it as cover, Naruto managed to sneak up on Gilzo and engaged in Taijutsu. GIlzo became enraged and his chakra erupted as he had a mad gaze upon his face. He became rapid and unruly. His speed was intense and unpredictable and had Naruto on the ropes for a while. Man you're doing a piss poor job. Here's a portion of my power. The Nine Tails hissed. "Thanks you jerk." Naruto retorted. Gilzo and Naruto then matched speed and strength.

The two battled harshly slamming into the ground and trees. Gilzo was causing the ground to quake and the sea to swirl and whirl. With the wave of one of his hand he caused the sea to rise up and shoot water bullets at Naruto. With chakra of the Nine Tailed Fox Naruto dodged and punched through the bullets. "Time to end all of you! Water Style: Giant Flood Jutsu!" Gilzo howled as he created an enormous wave to wipe everyone out. Focusing hard and quickly Naruto countered the attack. "Wind Style: Hurricane Gale Jutsu!" Naruto clapped his hands together as the clouds began to darken and a hurricane erupted destroyed the wave and saved the village. Gilzo got caught by the wind and was ripped to shreds. "That takes care of him. Believe it." Naruto huffed.

Seeing his comrades were defeated Taizen grew furious. He blinded Sakura and went towards the village. He knocked Naruto and Hinata towards Sakura and then activated a large barrier. "Ninja Art: Sacred Barrier Jutsu." Taizen then encased the entire village in a large silver barrier. "Fire Style: Fox Claw Jutsu." Naruto exhaled and released the flames from his mouth in an attempt to break through the barrier but to no avail. "You can't break this jutsu. It is one of the strongest barrier jutsus in existence an S-Class rank." Taizen smiled. "We'll see about that." Sakura said dashing towards the barrier. Leaping into the air she drew back her arm and propelled it with incredible speed and punched the barrier causing no damage or effect whatsoever. "Ha! Pathetic." Taizen cackled. "Moeru." Sakura said casually. She was then surrounded by a controlled fiery aura and punched the barrier again still to no avail. "Damn it all the hell." Sakura growled. "It won't work. Now I get to kill all these people slowly." Taizen teased. Suddenly Sakura erupted in fire and chakra. "Moeru: Level Four!" Sakura pushed through the pain and focused hard to compress the flames as much as she could. The fire was hot enough that the sea started to evaporate. On her back two large fiery wings grew. The fire was orange, then blue, and finally white. "Fire Style: Moeru Fist!" Sakura launched at the barrier with a fist of pure white flames. As she clashed with the sacred barrier the entire ground shook and the jutsu shattered into pieces.

All of the villagers cheered in joy. "Yeah go Sakura!" Naruto yelled. "Impossible. That jutsu is impenetrable." Taizen gasped. "You're next." Sakura declared flying towards him instantaneously. Taizen coated himself in electricity and matched the power of Moeru: Level 4. "Raijin Coat." Taizen snarled turning his lightning gold. Sakura pushed him away from the village to protect everyone, and sent him flying through the air. "Thunder Javelin!" Taizen brought down a large stream of lightning only for Sakura to shield herself with a wing. The two fiercely battled in Taijutsu soaring in the sky breaking the sound barrier several times. Seeing an opening she went to end the fight. Kicking Taizen into the sky, Sakura transported above him and finished him. "Phoenix Force." Sakura jammed her fist into him with the aura of a Phoenix hitting Taizen and sending him back to the ground paralyzed. Her jutsu ended and Sakura began to fall. Seeing this, Naruto jumped into the air and caught her.

"Thanks." Sakura sighed. Landing on the ground, Naruto placed her down. Hinata then looked her over to see if she had any injuries. "She's ok just exhausted with mild bruises." Hinata told Naruto. "I'll be fine. Secret Art: Phoenix Restoration." Sakura released a pink flame around her body they restored a bit of her energy and some of her wounds. "I'll be able to resume travel tomorrow. For now we help repair the damage to their village and restrain the spies and put Taizen and Ulqui in secure rooms." Sakura commanded.

After several hours of repairing the damage they finished with the help of Naruto's shadow clones. Sakura went around healing anyone who was hurt by falling debris. Hinata helped the village officials come up with new ways to protect themselves. The next morning they saw familiar faces arrive. It was Jiraiya leading Kakashi and Guy. "Hey there." Jiraiya called out. "Hello Master Jiraiya, you guys are a little late." Hinata smiled. "Where are the spies?" Kakashi asked. "We have them bound in a secure location." Hinata replied. "Wow Granny actually sent the tree of you." Naruto said coming over baffled. "Well you three were sent to deal with incredible shinobis. Where are they now?" Guy asked. "Gilzo is dead, Naruto took him out. Ulqui and Taizen are locked up awaiting transport. Naruto as them sealed in rooms at the inn." Sakura informed them walking up. "Impressive. Taizen was one of the strongest criminals around. " Jiraiya commented. "He nearly destroyed us all." The village leader said walking up. "He created a sacred barrier around the village and was going to slaughter us all. But young Sakura here broke through it with her mighty fist." He said happily. "Wait you broke a sacred barrier with your fist?" Guy asked in awe. "Um Yes sir. I had to use my Moeru Fist. One of the jutsus utilized in my Moeru: Level 4. After that I defeated him in a brutal battle. My Moeru aura protected me from severe arm and I was able to heal overnight." Sakura replied. "Incredible, he had a technique known as Raijin Coat; where he cladded himself in lightning. It has power similar to the Seventh Gate of Chakra. Your Moeru is powerful to go against it." Guy complimented.

"We thank you all for your help. Those criminals would hold us hostage as one was always here and would force us to do things and make us act natural as to not alarm visitors." The village leader stated. "You're quite welcome." Sakura bowed. "If you all need anything our village is always willing to assist. Here you will be known as Hinata the Graceful Lion, Naruto the Orange Hurricane, and Sakura the Burning Fist." The village leader declared. "And we will spread the news far and wide so everyone will know of you." His assistant stated. "Thanks." Naruto grinned.

Getting the prisoners they moved out and returned to the Hidden Leaf. When they returned a message was waiting Master Jiraiya. "Sir this is for you." A Chunin handed him a note. Reading it Jiraiya saw that he had to leave. "It seems a contact of mine might have something. I'll see you all later." Jiraiya said vanishing into the wind. "We'll take the prisoners to their cells. Taizen will most likely be transported to the Hidden Cloud Village once we're done with him." Kakashi stated as he and guy went to the prison.

Sakura, Naruto, and Hinata went to the Hokage Office. Knocking on the door they waited for permission then entered in. "We're back Lady Hokage." Sakura said they walked in and stood before her in a horizontal line. "Excellent. I figured I'd be hearing from you all soon. News of your battle have spread like wildfire; Burning Fist, Orange Hurricane, and Graceful Lion." Tsunade smiled. "Wait! You already heard about!" Naruto expressed in shock. "Yes and I'm proud of you all. You are making names for yourselves and well as letting our enemies know we are not to be trifled with." Tsunade voiced sternly. "Yeah. Believe it!" Naruto declared thrusting his fist into the air. "You three are going to be taking on a lot more responsibilities. Such as teaching a lesson one or two days a month at the academy for one; and other things." Tsunade informed them. "Oh yeah that will be sweet." Naruto grinned eagerly. " I've been thinking about this for a while. We need more elites in the village and we have a large pull of Genin that will need mentors. So Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata Hyuga, I Tsunade the Godaime Hokage bestow upon you the rank of Jonin." Tsunade declared. "Yahoo!" Naruto cheered. "Thank you Lady Hokage." Hinata smiled. "Don't worry Granny we're going to be the best of the best." Naruto declared. "Good. You also will have to deal more solo missions that will be more covert." Tsunade informed them. "I'm up for it." Naruto stated. "Great to hear, for now go rest up and prepare for tomorrow." Tsunade told them. The trio went to Ichiraku Ramen and celebrated the promotion of Naruto and Hinata.


	7. Chapter 7

Going to the establishment they sat down and ordered bowls of ramen. Naruto was thrilled as he was closer to his goal of becoming Hokage. "Man I can't believe it. I'm finally a Jonin. I'll get to go on solo missions and train students. Show them that there is always someone there to help them through rough times like Iruka Sensei did for me when I was in the Academy." Naruto smiled. "That's great Naruto." Sakura chuckled proudly at her friend. " I'm looking forward to having a team. It will be something special." Hinata stated. "You'll be an awesome sensei, Hinata." Naruto told her. "Thank you." She said without blushing which made her smile that her courage and confidence were growing. "The future is going to be a big one. We're the future of the village so we must bring our A game every day." Sakura said. " I will, believe it!" Naruto cheered. The trio ate and fellowshipped for a couple of hours before going home.

Walking to the Hyuga residence, Hinata thought how she would break the news to her father and what his reaction would be. As she got closer she saw her home ahead of her and walked into the building and found her father sitting in the courtyard watching her sister train. "Hello Father." Hinata said greeting Lord Hyuga. "Good evening Hinata. How was your mission?" He asked. "It was good we succeeded in capturing the spies and getting two members of the Akatsuki." Hinata responded. "That is nice." Lord Hyuga said. "Um, there is something else, Father." Hinata said. "Yes?" Lord Hyuga asked. "I've been promoted to Jonin." Hinata declared proudly. Hearing this caused Lord Hyuga to stand and Hanabi to stop training. "That's excellent news." Lord Hyuga said. "Congrats Sis!" Hanabi cheered as she ran and hug her older sister. "Thank you." Hinata said. "This is cause for celebration." Lord Hyuga declared as they went inside.

Going home, Naruto sat in his chair and sighed. He was tired but happy at his success and promotion just wish he had someone at home to talk to it about. As he was sitting a knock came from the door. Getting up he opened it and saw Iruka standing there. "Hey there! How's it going?!" Iruka asked. "Oh I'm doing good Iruka Sensei. What brings you by?" Naruto asked. "Just seeing how things are going. I heard your mission went well, Orange Hurricane." Iruka smiled. "Ha-ha. Thanks Sensei. I also got a promotion." Naruto stated. "Promotion?! Wait you're a Jonin!" Iruka shouted "Yep!" Naruto laughed. Tearing swelled in Iruka's eyes. "I'm proud of you." Iruka expressed hugging Naruto tightly. "Thank you Sensei" Naruto cried. The two talked for a couple of hours before Iruka left.

* * *

Faraway in a distant hideout, Orochimaru was howling in pain. He was in dire need of a new vessel. Kabuto was doing his best to relieve his pain. "Do you want me to bring him Lord Orochimaru?" Kabuto asked. "Yes, it's time for Sasuke to fulfill his destiny." Orochimaru hissed. Leaving quickly, Kabuto went and brought Sasuke to Orochimaru and then left the room. "What the hell do you want?" Sasuke asked rudely. "It is time for you to fulfill your purpose." Orochimaru hissed exiting his body and lunging at Sasuke.

Kabuto was outside the room and heard the commotion. After a couple of minutes Sasuke emerged from the room and glared at Kabuto. "Are you in control?" Kabuto asked. "Of course I am. It's my body." Sasuke spat glaring at Kabuto with his Sharingan. Kabuto was horrified that his beloved Lord Orochimaru was gone. Sasuke then left in search of recruits to help him accomplish his goal of finding Itachi.

Going through the base he searched for the perfect candidate. Looking through the cells he found someone he at worked with before. "Hey Suigetsu." Sasuke called out. "Oh great it's you." Suigetsu sighed. "How would you like to get out of here?" Sasuke asked dryly. "Sure. That'll happen when pigs fly." Suigetsu spat. At that moment the door was kicked in and Sasuke cut away his bindings. "Looks like they're flying." Sasuke said walking away. "HEY! Wait up!" Suigetsu called out following Sasuke. "Where the hell are we going?" He asked. "To the Land of Waves; there's something there I'm sure you'd like." Sasuke informed him.

Reaching the Land of waves, Sasuke led Suigetsu to Zabuza and Haku's graves were the Executioner Blade resided. "Here I know you are good with a blade, so I thought you'd like that." Sasuke stated. "Gee thanks man. You're not as soulless as everyone says." Suigetsu teased. "Whatever let's go. We need to find someone else." Sasuke said walking away. The two journeyed for a couple of days before reaching another of Orochimaru's laboratories. Entering the building they were greeted by a red headed young woman with glasses. "Hello there, what can I do for you?" She asked. "Karin right?" Sasuke asked. "Why yes handsome." Karin replied winking at Sasuke. I'm here for someone. Someone strong I heard was kept on the lower levels." Sasuke informed her. "So you want him." Karin sighed getting serious. "Then let's go." She said gesturing for them to follow her. They went to the lower level and walked down the long corridor to a cell and opened the door. Doing so caused a figure to glare at them in the darkness. "Jugo you have visitors." Karin called out. Standing up the figure got closer and revealed a young adult male with a muscular figure. "What do you want?" He asked in a low growl. "Your help, I need someone of your strength for a mission." Sasuke informed him. "Fine I guess. Don't really have anything else to do." Jugo grunted "Karin find him some clothes." Sasuke ordered. "Anything you say my darling." Karin blushed.

After gearing up they left the site and went forward with the mission. "So what the hell are we doing anyway and why are you following us?" Suigetsu asked Sasuke and Karin. "I will go wherever my love goes." Karin said softly. "Good lord she's crazy." Suigetsu sighed. "We're going to find my brother Itachi so I can kill him." Sasuke declared. "Do we have any idea where he could be?" Jugo asked. "He's part of an organization called the Akatsuki. Karin your job will be to track him down. Suigetsu and Jugo you will both keep people of intervening in my affairs." Sasuke informed them all. "I know of a place that he could be. I helped Lord Orochimaru out once when he was part of the Akatsuki and it was a place they would meet." Jugo told Sasuke. "Lead the way." Sasuke gestured.

After a couple of hours they came to a hidden building in a large forest. Creeping around they surveyed the area to make sure nobody was following them or guarding the place. "Seems like nobody has been here in years." Suigetsu huffed. They entered inside and cased the place out. "Seems like someone was here." Karin observed sensing a chakra presence. "How long ago?" Sasuke asked. " A few days. I think I can track them." Karin said darting out the door. The three men then followed her lead as she tracked the chakra.

In two days they eventually came to place and found who the owner of the chakra was, Deidara. He was relaxing in a tree when Sasuke came up to him. "Hey you! I need to talk to you." Sasuke stated. "The hell? You seem familiar." Deidara said curiously. "I'm Sasuke Uchiha, I need to know the location of my brother, Itachi." Sasuke informed him. "That's nice but I can't help you kid." Deidara sighed going back to relaxing. "I wasn't asking." Sasuke said throwing a kunai at him which Deidara dodged. The two then engaged in battle. Deidara threw several explosives at Sasuke who dodged them effortlessly. With his Sharingan he saw every attack coming and dodged them. "Fire Style: Dragon Bomb Jutsu." Sasuke released the flames from his mouth and propelled them at Deidara. Using his explosive clay, Deidara shielded himself and countered Sasuke. Darting towards him Deidara engaged Sasuke in Taijutsu. The two duked it out for ten minutes for eventually parted and started launching jutsus at each other. Deidara was keeping Sasuke on the ropes.

Seeing Sasuke in trouble Jugo tried to intervene but was halted by a blast of fire. "That's not nice." Said a voice. Turning he another member of the Akatsuki. "Sorry but Tobi can't let you do that. Tobi is a good boy." He said. Growling Jugo launched at him and passed right through him. Suigetsu and Karin tried to attack Tobi as well only to be foiled and kicked aside. The trio tried to catch Tobi off guard but nothing seemed to work. "Sit down and just watch the show." Tobi said happily.

Sasuke was doing his best to defeat Deidara and eventually broke his leg. "Damn you brat!" Deidara screamed. "Where is Itachi?!" Sasuke roared. Deidara used his C3 jutsu he aimed to destroy Sasuke only for him to narrowly escape. Finding a spot, Sasuke prepared the Chidori and dashed towards Deidara and struck him in the chest. "Now where is Itachi?" He growled. "Last I heard he went to some secret hideout of your people. Too bad you won't be there." Deidara grinned he suddenly started to undo stitches on his chest and feed it clay and used his C0 Jutsu and self-destructed. At the last minute Sasuke summoned Manda and jumped inside his mouth protecting himself and sacrificing the great snake.

Finding his team he saw that they narrowly escaped the explosion. "Come on, I know where Itachi is." Sasuke sighed. Going to the secret place of the Uchiha he told his team to wait outside. As he got closer he saw Kisame standing by the door. "He's inside. I'll keep your friends company." Kisame grinned. Entering the old building Sasuke saw Itachi sitting in a chair. "It's been a long time little brother." Itachi said coldly. "I hope you had a good day, because today is your last." Sasuke proclaimed. "Oh really? You've gotten quite cocky." Itachi teased. "Shut up. First you're going to answer a question I've been itching to ask." Sasuke ordered. "And that is?" Itachi asked. "Who helped you kill our clan?" Sasuke asked. "Who says I had help?" Itachi asked. "There's no way you could've done it by yourself. You were only fourteen and a prodigy but still not that powerful. Even now if you tried it you'd still probably lose an arm at the least." Sasuke stated. "Fine. I'll tell you. The person who helped me was Madara Uchiha." Itachi told him.

Hearing this caused Sasuke to become speechless. "That's not true. That's impossible he's long dead and if he wasn't' he'd be old as hell." Sasuke gasped. "There are a lot of things you don't know Sasuke. And you will never know them because I'm going to have to end you." Itachi told him coldly. "Tell me." Sasuke ordered. "As you wish. You see the Sharingan is only the first step of our clans power. There is something beyond it as you know." Itachi said softly. "Yeah the Mangekyou Sharigan I know." Sasuke grunted. "Precisely. Madara Uchiha and his brother Izuna were the first ones to activate this power in our clan. They became rulers in the clan and led with power and honor. Soon Madara began to suffer effects in his eyes. He realized that the light was fading and his powers were getting weaker. You see that is the price of the Mangekyou Sharingan. You receive incredible power at the cost of your vision. Madara couldn't handle it anymore and soon fell into darkness. In his darkness he asked his brother for forgiveness and ripped out his eyes and claimed them for himself. In that he gained a new power an Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan. After that he began to swallow up other clans and conquered many lands. He then formed an alliance with the Senju of the forest. Together they fought many wars and decided to create a village the future Hidden Leaf. They then came to blows and Madara lost to the future First Hokage, but his eternal vision still lives on. Soon I will have that power." Itachi said coldly.

Suddenly Itachi was in front of Sasuke and punched him into the air. He then leaped into the air and smacked him into the wall. Sasuke was flabbergasted by Itachi's speed. He tried to follow him with his Sharingan but to no avail. Taking out his sword, Sasuke charged Itachi who countered it with a simple kunai. The two brothers then dueled in Taijutsu with Sasuke on the defensive.

Trying to find an opening Sasuke grew angrier and angrier and his cursed mark released a vast amount of chakra into him. He then created a shadow clone to try and double team Itachi only for Itachi to beat the both of them into submission in seconds. "Lightning style: Dragon Fist." Sasuke punched a blast of lightning in the form of a dragon at Itachi and managed to send him flying. Grabbing him by the throat, Itachi held Sasuke up and looked him dead in the eye. "Tsukuyomi." Itachi whispered. Throwing Sasuke into a hellish Genjutsu, he caused his brother to scream in pain and experience torment like never before. In the end Sasuke was placed on the ground and had one of his eyes plucked out. Through rage and will he broke the Genjutsu. "Ugh!" Sasuke screamed. "That will be your fate." Itachi declared. Sasuke then kicked Itachi away. "Chidori Current." Sasuke sent a surge of lightning at Itachi and managed to stun him for a bit. Charging him once more, Sasuke punched Itachi through the roof. Jumping up to meet him he walked slowly to his brother. "I'm ending this. Grand Fireball Jutsu!" Sasuke exhaled a great flame and Itachi followed suit. The two flames collided and Sasuke was shortly getting the upper hand. Suddenly Itachi's right eye began to bleed. "Amaterasu." He whispered. Unleashing the black flames of the abyss he burned through Sasuke's attack and made him cease his attack and dart back. Itachi then chased him with the flames till he was above Sasuke and gloating. "You'll never win brother!" Itachi howled.

Sasuke was at his end and chakra was very low. "I'm finishing this." Sasuke sighed. "Fire style: Dragon Flame Jutsu." Sasuke used every ounce of his curse mark chakra to blast Itachi and the sky. "Your aim is off." Itachi said. "Not really. I came here to kill you and I'm going to do just that." Sasuke smiled Suddenly the clouds began to darken and a storm arose. "Kirin." Sasuke said. Summoning a giant lightning dragon he brought it down on Itachi and destroyed the building. "I've done it." Sasuke sighed in exhaustion. "Done what?" Itachi asked. Looking over Sasuke saw that he was alive and well. "HOW THE HELL ARE YOU ALIVE?!" Sasuke bellowed. " My final trump card. Susanoo." Itachi said coldly. Sasuke fell to the ground and tried to muster up chakra but felt himself truly at his limit. I can give you the power if you allow me to help you. a voice came to him inside is mind and suddenly something erupted from this body.

Looking at him Itachi saw Orochimaru shoot out of Sasuke's shoulder and into a giant eight headed snake form. "I'm going to take his body and make it my own." Orochimaru proclaimed. Hearing this brought great rage to Itachi. He then used his Susanoo to cut away the heads and stab Orochimaru with the Totsuka blade of Susanoo. "What? This is impossible! That blade! No!" Orochimaru screamed as he was then sealed away. Sasuke then threw kunai after kunai with explosion tags in order to destroy the Susanoo. Blow after blow took a toll on Itachi who grew tired after ever hit. Eventually Sasuke ran out of weapons and Itachi kept on coming. As he got close, Itachi stretched out his hand and tapped Sasuke on the forehead. "Sorry little brother, maybe next time." He whispered with a smile as he fell dead. Sasuke then passed out.

* * *

In the Hidden Leaf Village News traveled that Sasuke had killed Itachi. "I can't believe he actually did it." Naruto sighed as he was laying in the hospital bed. "Damn I need to be out there." He groaned. "No you don't you have to rest. Your new jutsu really did a number on your arm." Sakura told him. "Lady Tsunade as made it a forbidden jutsu." She added. "Yeah yeah I know." Naruto huffed. "Now get some rest. I'll check on you tomorrow Knucklehead." Sakura said running her knuckles through his hair. "Stop that Shorty." Naruto said sticking his tongue out at her as she left.

Sakura walked down the hall and saw Shikamaru standing against a wall. "Hey is everything ok?" She asked. "Yeah Choji is getting a checkup. We got the guys who killed Asuma Sensei but he was injured in the process. Just making sure I don't lose anyone else." Shikamaru sighed. "Ok. Let me know if you need anything." Sakura stated patting him on the shoulder. Going outside she walked around the village for a while before running into Shizune. "Shizune how is everything going?" She asked. "Ok. Lady Tsunade has me running errands for her. I believe she's planning something in a couple of days and I don't know what but be prepared." Shizune told her. "I will. Thanks for the heads up." Sakura retorted. Going to a Ichiraku Ramen she bought a to-go bowl and went back to the hospital.

"Hey I decided to get you some food." Sakura said entering Naruto's room. "Huh? Oh thanks." Naruto smiled. "Here, let me help you." Sakura said feeding him some ramen. "You're an annoying little brother you know that." Sakura sighed. "And you're an awesome big sister." Naruto smiled with his mouth full of food. After a while she made sure he had everything he needed and then tucked him in. Leaving she went to see the Hokage.

"Lady Tsunade, what are the next moves we're going to make regarding Sasuke?" Sakura asked. "We will try and send a party for him down the line but the Akatsuki are our main priority. They have lost three members rather quickly and these were senior members unlike the others that recently joined. Get some rest Sakura; you'll be teaching tomorrow." Tsunade told her. "Yes Ma'am " Sakura said leaving. Going home she showered and then went to bed.

In the morning as the sun rose, Sakura got up and showered. The water of was steaming hot and she let it just flow over her. After a while she finished her shower and then got dress. She put on a pink shirt, black pants, black shoes, and her dark pink haori on. She then went to eat breakfast. She had a couple of eggs, bacon, and toast with a glass of orange juice to drink. She went to her parents' room and whispered goodbye and made her way to the academy. Walking inside she made her way to the classroom she'd be teaching in. She sat at the desk and waited for the students to arrive. After a couple of minutes, they started to pile into the room. As they entered she heard them muttering to themselves. "It's her The Burning Fist of Konoha." A little girl gasped. "Woah cool a Jonin." A boy whispered.

"Alright settle down quickly so we can get started." Sakura instructed them. Sitting down and getting silent the students awaited for Sakura to speak. "Good morning, I'm Sakura Haruno and I'm your instructor for the day. I will be instructing you all on chakra control. Who here can tell me the importance of such a skill?" Sakura asked. "It projects the power of your jutsu." A young boy replied. "Exactly. If you have poor chakra control you risk using too much energy or overdoing your jutsu and messing it up." Sakura informed them. "If your chakra is think you have to use more chakra then a person who has dense chakra. Fire and lightning jutsu both use a good amount of chakra and if you have poor control you will exhaust yourself quickly and make yourself open for attack." Sakura stated. "With precise chakra control you can do things like increase your strength and speed." Sakura told them. "Is that what you do?" a girl asked. "Yes, me and the Hokage use our chakra control to give us vast strength. I also use it in my jutsu that I created in order produce incredible flames." Sakura smiled. " Can you show us?" A boy asked. "Sure." Sakura replied. Making a fist she ignited it with fire. "See this is me making normal fire. When I compress my chakra more, the flame changes." She demonstrated as the orange flame turned blue. "When I compress and control it fully, the flame becomes its hottest." Sakura stated as she did so and the flames turned snow white. The students looked in awe at her skill. After a couple of seconds she extinguished the flames. "Wow." A girl expressed as everyone clapped. Sakura then showed them how she could walk up the walls with her chakra control and do other skills. After two hours a Chunin came in and took over the class. The students thanked Sakura for the lesson and applauded her.

As she left the academy she went to the hospital to check on Naruto. As she walked down the hall and made her way to his room, she could hear voices coming from the inside. Looking inside she saw Hinata talking to Naruto. "I'm glad you are doing better Naruto." Hinata said softly. "Yep, my am is moving a lot better and I should be out of here in a couple of hours." Naruto smiled. "Would you like to get something to eat later tonight?" Hinata asked. "Sure thing. Believe it." Naruto expressed. "Awesome I'll see you around 7." Hinata smiled. "Cool I'll pick you up then." Naruto smiled. Hinata bid him farewell and skipped on the room and waved at Sakura. Going into the room Sakura walked and sat in the chair. "So looks like you have a date." Sakura snickered. " Huh, it's just two people eating together." Naruto groaned. "Yeah right, I saw you watch her walk away." Sakura teased. " Yeah whatever. What you been up to today?" Naruto asked. "Well I had to teach this morning and that was nice. Had a chance to shape some young minds." Sakura answered. "Sounds awesome . Can't wait to get my chance. I'm going to be the best teacher around." Naruto boasted. " Don't know about that, but you'll definitely be the loudest." Sakura giggled.


	8. Chapter 8

After getting discharged from the hospital, Naruto went shopping at the clothing store. Walking around, he was searching for a nice shirt. He gazed through a couple of selections and eventually settled on a long sleeved red button down. Checking out and buying the shirt he then went home and prepared for the night. He took a long hot shower, then found his nicest pair of black pants and ironed them. after that he made of plan of what the night would consist of. Once he finished he started to get dressed. He put on the black pants, some black shoes, and his new red shirt. He tucked it in and did his hair. Afterwards he made his way to the Hyuga resident. Knocking on the door he was greeted by Lord Hyuga. "Good evening sir." Naruto said strongly. "Evening young man, what brings you here?" Lord Hyuga asked. "I'm here to pick up Hinata. She and I are having dinner tonight." Naruto replied. "I see. Well, come on in. I'll send her sister to get her." Lord Hyuga said gesturing for him to sit. "The two sat quietly for three minutes until Hinata came out. She was wearing a navy blue skirt that reached one inch below her knees. Her top was a shiny purple short sleeved blouse. "Hello Naruto." Hinata said softly. "Wow, look beautiful." Naruto expressed causing Hinata to blush. "You two have fun." Lord Hyuga said opening the door as they waved goodbye.

Going to the center of the village, Naruto took Hinata to a nice restaurant. The two sat near a window with Naruto pulling out Hinata's chair. The two ordered drinks and then looked over the menu for a while and eventually ordered. "So how have you been?" Naruto asked. "I've been well and doing a lot of missions. How about yourself?" Hinata asked. "Been great, created a new jutsu and my missions have gotten a lot more various." He replied. "That's nice. Have you had a chance to teach at the academy yet?" Hinata asked. "Nope, but I hope to get one soon. What about you?" Naruto inquired. " I taught a lesson on mission rules." Hinata smiled. "Awesome. You're going to make a great team leader one day." Naruto expressed. "Thank you." Hinata giggled. Their food came soon after and the two ate and talked about their lives. Afterwards they went for a walk around the park.

While they were there Naruto found a white flower and picked it. "Here, this would look nice in your hair." Naruto said placing the flower above her right ear. "Thank you Naruto, you're so sweet." Hinata smiled with glee. "Thanks." Naruto chuckled. The two walked around and enjoyed the night sky. "So what are you goals in the village?" Naruto asked. "I hope to one day be a strong kunoichi and an inspiration to the next generation and to make my family proud." She stated proudly. "That's great. You're definitely going to succeed, believe it. I plan on being the greatest Hokage and also want to inspire the next generation. With ninjas like us the next generation is going to be a force to reckon with." Naruto cheered.

As it got closer to 10:00 Naruto walked Hinata home. "I had a great time." Hinata spoke softly. "I did too. We should do this again one day." Naruto told her looking into her eyes. "That would be great." She said softly. "Well, Goodnight Hinata." Naruto whispered. "Goodnight Naruto." Hinata voiced. Leaning towards her, Naruto kissed Hinata on the cheek and then vanished into the wind. The door of the Hyuga residence then opened. "Hmm. The young man's got style." Lord Hyuga said impressed.

Walking home, Naruto saw Sakura waiting by his house. "Hey there." Naruto called out. "You enjoy your date?" Sakura asked. "Yeah it was pretty swell." Naruto grinned. "Good, I hope you were gentleman. I'm sure some of my manners and awesomeness had to rub off on you." Sakura scoffed. "Oh hush, Shorty." Naruto grunted. "Twerp." Sakura retorted. "So what brings you here?" Naruto wondered. "Just letting you know tomorrow you're teaching a lesson at the academy. So don't screw it up." Sakura teased punching him lightly in the shoulder. "I won't." Naruto assured her.

* * *

The next morning Naruto prepared for his first teaching mission. He donned his orange and black ninja suit and his red and black cloak. He tied his forehead protector tightly and went to the academy. Along the way he saw Kakashi. "Good Morning Sensei." Naruto said happily. "Morning Naruto; where are you off to?" Kakashi asked. "I'm on my way to teach my first lesson at the academy." He smiled brightly. "I see. Guess they're letting anyone teach these days." Kakashi shot coldly. "Yep. Wait…hey." Naruto growled. "I'm kidding. I'm happy you're getting the chance to expand your skill set. A big part of being the Hokage is teaching others so this will help you and them." Kakashi stated. "Thanks Sensei." Naruto nodded. "Alright now hurry up. And good luck." Kakashi wished him. "Thanks. I'll see you later Sensei." Naruto waved.

Arriving at the academy and walking down the halls he found the room he would be teaching and the lesson he was to teach. "I can make this work. Believe it." He said to himself. In about fifteen minutes, students came in and sat in their seats. They all gazed at Naruto in awe. "Alright everyone, today you 're going to be learning battle tactics." Naruto informed them. "So what do you all know about basic tactics?" He asked the classroom. "Well you have to make sure you use your strongest jutsu first" a boy spoke up. "Wrong. If you start off the battle with your strongest jutsu and miss, you've just used a good amount of chakra. There's also the matter of what your mission is. If your mission is to capture someone your strongest jutsu could be too powerful and end up killing your target." Naruto explained. "The primary key to tactics is to observe the scenario. Observation leads to understanding, understanding leads to planning, and planning leads to success. Success leads to you and your team coming home alive." Naruto explained. They were all taking notes and listening closely to Naruto's words. "Another tactic is deception. Make your opponents think one thing but in reality it's another." He added. After that he gave them small examples and quizzes to test their knowledge after a while he had them thinking of ways they could complete their missions primarily with their minds without relying strictly on their muscle. " I hope you guys keep all the lessons you learn to heart. Remember to mediate on them and practice them every day." Naruto instructed them. "Thank you Naruto Sensei." The kids said united. Hearing that brought tears to Naruto's eyes and warmed his heart. "you're welcome." He grinned leaving.

In the Hokage office Tsunade was being visited by Fukasaku. "Hello Lady Hokage, I'm sorry but I have great and terrible news. Jiraiya-boy has fallen in battle." He said with tears in his eyes. Hearing this shook Tsunade to her core. Her best friend was gone and she never got to say goodbye. "This can't be true." She sighed "I'm sorry." Fukasaku said softly. A knock came from the door and as it opened Naruto was standing there. "Hey what's going on?" Naruto asked with a smile. "Naruto sit down." Tsunade stammered trying to be strong. "What's wrong Granny? Tell me." He demanded. "Jiraiya…he's gone…" Tsunade told him walking over to Naruto and placing her hand on his shoulder. "What?! That's impossible." Naruto gasped. "I'm sorry Naruto-boy. I was there with him in battle. He fought valiantly. I'm taking you with me to Mount Myoboku. You have to train and learn Sage Mode." Fukasaku told him. "This soon?" Tsunade argued. "I'm sorry, but the man who killed Jiraiya-boy won't wait. We leave in two days." Fukasaku stated.

Tsunade walked out of the office and went down the hall. She leaned against the wall and then slid to the floor crying. Naruto staggered home with tears in his eyes and plopped on a bench and wailed. His master, mentor, and friend was no longer with him. No longer would he catch Jiraiya peeking in the bath houses. No longer would he see him work on his books. As he sat there he heard footsteps approaching "Naruto!" looking up he saw Sakura. "Naruto I'm so sorry." She said. Putting her arm around him she let him cry into her shoulder. Helping him up after a while she walked him home, where Hinata had made him some food encase he got hungry. "Naruto, I'm sorry for your loss. If you need anything we're here." Hinata said softly. "Thanks." He said going to his bed and lying down.

In the interrogation and information division Fukasaku was letting Ibiki copy down the code on his back. "There I got it. And you say this is the one body you got?" Ibiki asked. "Yes, that's him. Get whatever you can from it. We need to take down this infernal Akatsuki." Fukasaku croaked.

After two days, Naruto prepared for his journey to Mount Myoboku. Took all the supplies he needed and was ready to train as hard as he could. Going outside of the Hokage Office, he met with Fukasaku. "Alright Grandpa Toad, let's get moving." Naruto stated "Where the hell are you going boy?" Fukasaku asked confused. "We're walking right?" Naruto asked. "Hell no! We're reverse summoning. Good grief, walking would take entirely too long." Fukasaku laughed. "Ok then. I'll see you all later I'll do my best for Pervy Sage." Naruto declared with fire in his eyes. "Excellent hang on." Fukasaku told Naruto as they vanished "Welcome to Mount Myoboku. Now your training begins." Fukasaku declared

* * *

Far away in a hidden building Sasuke was tending to his preparing for his mission. "So we're really going through with this. Joining the Akatsuki?" Karin asked. "Yes the Leaf turned my brother into a monster I'm going aid the Akatsuki in their goal and bring forth a new order." Sasuke declared with his new Mangekyou Sharingan blaring. Suigetsu was resting in a chair in another room when Sasuke came and got him. "Get up. We're moving out." Sasuke told him. "Where are we going?" Suigetsu asked. "Madara said we're to get the Eight Tailed Jinchuriki." Sasuke informed him. "We're ready when you are." Jugo said. "Then let's move." Sasuke ordered.

Leaving and moving with great speed they made their way to the Hidden Cloud Village. Along the way Karin asked Sasuke of the plan of attack. "We beat him and finish it quick. Blitz him from multiple angles." Sasuke replied. After a couple of hours they found Killer B. "What's happenin homies?" Killer B asked. Without hesitation Sasuke launched several kunai blades at him with explosion tags. Killer B dodged them and drew his eight blades. Jugo attacked from the rear with powerful punches that moved Killer B back a bit. From above Suigetsu brought down the Executioner Blade and clashed with Killer B with such force the ground trembled. Using powerful water jutsus, Suigetsu kept B on his toes. Sasuke fused his lightning jutsus with Suigetsu's water and made the blows more effective. Releasing his own lightning Killer B blasted everyone back. Sasuke retaliated with a fire jutsu and sent Killer B into the mountain side.

Killer B then drew in the chakra of the Gyuki the Eight Tailed Beast. "Damn looks like you're in quite the pickle." Gyuki laughed. "I know that, fool you fool." Killer B shot. Charging his swords with Guyki's chakra and charged the three Akatsuki members with a rage. While he was focusing on them, Karin prepared a trap with her chakra chains and when the opportunity opened up she bound Killer B. Activating his Mangekyou Sharingan, Sasuke looked into his eyes and activated Tsukuyomi. As he cast the Genjutsu, Gyuki sent his chakra through Killer B's body and disrupted the attack. "Thanks Brotha!" Killer B laughed at that moment they combined their chakra and fully transformed. Attacking the quartet Killer B tossed them around like rag dolls. Not wanting his comrades to die, Sasuke closed his left eye which began to bleed. "Amaterasu." Sasuke whispered. Unleashing the black flames he blasted the Jinchuriki with all he had. Thinking they won because all that was left was a large tentacle. Investigating it they realized that they had been fooled. "Damn it all to hell." Suigetsu hissed. "It's fine we'll try again. At least we are alive." Sasuke sighed.


	9. Chapter 9

Returning to the hideout Sasuke went to talk to Madara. "We didn't get the Eight Tails." Sasuke grunted. "That's quite alright. We need to prepare for our plan to disrupt the Five Great Nations. They will soon have a summit of the Kages and we will make our move there." Madara chuckled. "How do you know that?" Sasuke asked. "Let's just say something big is coming this week." Madara said sinisterly.

* * *

At Mount Myoboku, Naruto was training hard to learn Sage Mode. He had been there for three days and was making stable progress. He was meditating and was getting better at holding natural chakra. His limit was currently holding it for five minutes and he was trying to expand it to twenty. Shima was watching him intensely and saw that he was extremely determined. "He's got the fire that's for sure." She stated. "Hopefully he can hold it a lot longer." Gamakichi sighed. "Don't worry Kichi-boy he will." Fukasaku voiced.

After a while Naruto activated Sage Mode and focused on compressing and controlling it. He then sparred with Fukasaku and managed to increase time to fifteen minutes. During his sparring sessions he learned frog kata and adapted his own style with the technique. Once Sage Mode dissipated he felt greatly fatigued. Seeing this was a problem he focused on ways to increase his stamina and create jutsus that could help compensate for his tiredness.

Later that day Naruto thought of different jutsus he could come up with specifically for Sage Mode. He was thinking of his strengths in battle. He had plenty of close and range attacks but his long range was only at four. Practicing and thinking of battle strategies for what would work best against the man who killed Jiraiya; Naruto came with a couple of solid counters. "Ok, those could definitely work." Naruto said to himself.

The next day Naruto and Fukasaku tried to fuse with each other so Naruto could use Sage Mode in battle. After a couple of failed attempts they realized it wouldn't work. "Damn we can't fuse." Naruto hissed punching the ground. "It's that infernal Nine-Tails, he doesn't want anyone else in your body. " Fukasaku groaned. "Rat bastard, it's my body and my choice." Naruto huffed. "There's got to be another way we can get around him." Fukasaku thought. "I know there is, believe it. I won't rest until I find that way." Naruto declared passionately.

* * *

In the Land of Rain, Pain was preparing his assault of the Hidden Leaf Village. "Konan I hope you're ready." Pain said. "Yes I am, I'll make sure to protect your main body while you destroy the leaf, find the Nine Tails, and bring forth a new order. They will be the first village to fall in order to bring peace." Pain declared. Making their way to the Hidden Leaf they were covert and moved with swiftness. Pain deployed soldiers at the Land of Fire boarder in order to draw away some of the Hidden Leaf's forces. Finding the perfect spot, Konan set up Nagato's chair and watched over him while his six Paths placed themselves ready for attack. "When will you strike?" Konan asked "At dawn. I will rest and restore my strength to full and hit them at full force and annihilate them all." Nagato declared. "Excellent." Konan smiled.

In the morning, Nagato activated his Six Paths and they teleported into the middle of the village "Seek and destroy" Pain ordered. The Six Paths spread out with incredible speed and destroyed everything in their path. Along the way they interrogated any shinobi to find out where Naruto was located so they could extract the Nine-Tails. The Animal Path summoned gargantuan beast that broght down buildings in seconds. The citizens were spreading like ants and running in fear. The Asura Path released powerful missiles and bombers and vaporized innocent bystanders. The Human Path was scanning the minds of everyone it could get its hands on. It pried through their minds searching for information on Naruto and when it found nothing it ripped out the soul of whoever was in his hands. The Preta Path was getting attacked by several Chunin and Jonin and absorbed all of their Ninjutsu with ease and retaliated with killing them quickly.

While it was about to hit a Chunin in the face, the Preta Path was suddenly thrusted into a wall of debris. Getting up it saw who did it and watched as Hinata walked closer to him. "I don't know who you are, but you will not destroy our village." She declared with her Byakugan glaring at him. The Preta Path then rushed her and engaged Hinata in Taijutsu. Hinata did her best to hold him off and when she saw the opportunity she struck him in the torso hitting several chakra points. Kicking him into the air, Hinata unleashed her Eight Trigrams: 128 Lion Palm. Hitting him with all she had she caused the Preta Path considerable damage.

While she was observing the Preta Path's body, the Asura Path appeared from afar and sent forth several torpedoes at her. Reacting quickly, Hinata unleashed another barrage of her `128 Lion Palm and targeted the attacks. "Damn, this one is tough." Hinata gasped. "Ninja Art: Eight Trigrams Wind Tunnel." Hinata thrusted her right hand forward and released a spiraling tunnel of wind at the Asura Path shredding its body gravely.

Elsewhere the Animal Path continued to wreak havoc on the village. It summoned a large bull that stampeded through the village until it was halted by a flaming fist and roasted to the raw nerve. "I don't know why you think you can do this to our village, but it stops now." Sakura growled. The Animal Path then sent various creatures at her all of which were met with a fiery death. Using incredible speed, Sakura activated her Phoenix Fist and punched the Animal Path in the chest destroying it.

On top of the Hokage Building Tsunade summoned Katsuyu. "Spread out and attach yourself to every citizen and keep them safe." Tsunade ordered. "Yes Milady." Katsuyu replied "I'm going to protect this village with everything I've got." Tsunade declared.

The Deva Path was going through shinobi like a wildfire killing everyone that walks. He aimed to kill a couple of Genin when suddenly he was kicked in the face. Soaring through the air and recovering quickly he saw who hit him. "Hmm, Kakashi the Copy Ninja." Pain said gazing at him. "You must be the leader of this attack." Kakashi stated. "You could say that." Pain responded. Moving quickly Kakashi charged him and engaged in high speed Taijutsu. The two of them were bouncing all over the terrain till Pain through Kakashi to the ground. "Earth Style: Jackal bark." Kakashi summoned a couple of jackals made of rock and had them pounce on Pain who thrusted them away with a single wave of his hand. "Fire Style: Rapid Cerebos." Kakashi created a three headed dog 20 meters tall made of flames that dove onto Pain only to be repelled away. Countering with speed he activated another jutsu. "Lightning Hound." The dog moved with blinding speed and managed to hit Pain at the last moment shocking him and pushing him back. "Impressive." Pain smirked. From behind him Choji and Choza attacked but were repelled and sent flying into debris. Holding out his hand Pain summoned Kakashi towards him, only for Kakashi to push off the ground and move towards him even faster and hit him with the Lightning Blade. Using an uppercut he sent Pain into the air and hit him at intervals making zigzags in the sky and finished the assault by punching him back to the ground and through the lightning zigzags at the speed of sound.

"You're quite the shinobi." Pain expressed getting up. "It's time that I end this little game." Pain declared vanishing and appearing behind Kakashi, he impaled him in the gut and tossed him to the ground. Choza tried to attack but was skewered by several blades. "Choji come here." Kakashi coughed. "Tell the Hokage that there is a five second interval of his attacks. GO!" Kakashi said rising slowly. Pain tried to stop Choji only for Kakashi to intervene with his Mangekyou Sharingan. "Kamui." Kakashi huffed warping away the several blades firing at Choji. Seeing this Pain took a small nail and flung it into Kakashi's skull seemingly killing him. After that he tried once more to take out Choji but watched as his attack vanished "Hmm, you're quite persistent. I thought you were dead." Pain stated walking to Kakashi Observing him he saw that he had used the last of his chakra and passed on.

The Naraka Path was killing all that was in its path and made sure to watch its surrounding so it didn't get caught off guard. Everyone caught by it was interrogated and died a painful death. Pain made sure that it was safe from arm and intercepted some of the assaults on it. Unexpectedly, he was blasted with a stream of fire. "Nice hit." He admitted. Walking towards him was Sakura with a fist engulfed in flames. Her pink haori was flowing in the wind as she casually made her way towards him. "You seem like the leader of this assault. Why the hell are you?" Sakura inquired. " We're here for the Nine-Tails and to destroy this place as the first step in bringing peace." Pain replied. "Like hell." Sakura growled. "Moeru: Level 3." Sakura activated her jutsu and the flames were white and compressed around her. Vanishing she appeared in front of Pain and punched him so hard and fast she broke the sound barrier.

Pain was flying through the air on fire and was caught by Sakura again as she got ahead of him and kicked into the sky. Getting ahead of him again she punched him back down to the ground. "Moeru Fist." Sakura blasted him again and caused him to hit the ground so hard the entire village shook. "Phoenix Destruction." Sakura launched the devastating jutsu upon Pain only for the Preta Path to show up and save him at the last minute. "Damn you." Sakura huffed. Flying down at the Preta Path she activated Moeru: Level 4 and prepared to bash him into oblivion. Seeing this Pain protected her away and into several shards of metal that melted due to her temperature. "That was close." Pain scoffed. Sending several pieces of metal into her, he injured Sakura enough that she passed out.

Jumping from above Tsunade met with Pain. "Get out of my village you rat bastard." She roared. "Not until I achieve my goal. It is time that you all know pain." He said flying into the sky. "ALMIGHTY PUSH!" He bellowed in a deep baritone voice. The Hidden Leaf Village was then crushed and destroyed in a powerful wave of force. Gathering the bodies of the fallen paths, Pain used the Naraka Path to revive them. " It is time we finish them all." Pain growled. Seeing all the destruction, Hinata tried to get up and fight. "Naruto please….help us." She cried. At that moment a large blast of smoke appeared before the Six Paths of Pain. As the smoke disappeared it reveled Naruto and Gamakichi on top of Gamabunta with Gamaken and Gamahiro next to him. "Sorry I'm late." Naruto growled glaring at Pain.


	10. Chapter 10

"Where the hell are we?" Naruto wondered. "We're in Konoha." Gamabunta told him. "You sure Chief?" Naruto asked. "Yes. Look over there." Gamabunta said pointing at the Hokage Monument. Looking in awe, Naruto grew angry. Using Sage Mode Naruto sensed all that were in the village but couldn't find Kakashi. Looking down Fukasaku saw all Six Paths of Pain. "There he is, the ones who killed Jiraiya-boy." Fukasaku croaked. "I'm glad I got you all here in time." Shima said hopping up onto Gamabunta. Glaring down Naruto eyed the Deva Path of Pain. With quick movement and using the Body Flicker he was right in front of him. "So you're the one who did this to the village and killed Master Jiraiya." Naruto growled. Behind him Tsunade ran up to confront Pain. "You're going to pay for this." Tsunade roared. "Granny; I got this. Take care of the wounded. And is Kakashi Sensei on a mission?" Naruto asked. "No. He's somewhere here in the village." Tsunade replied. "You can't sense him because he's dead." Pain told him. Hearing this brought shock to Naruto and Tsunade. "You killed Jiraiya and stole Kakashi. You're going to pay for that with your life." Naruto declared in a rage. "Naruto, take him down." Tsunade ordered as she went to take care of the villagers.

The Asura Path went to attack only for Naruto jam a Wind Release: Rasengan into its torso and send it flying away. The Animal Path summoned six large hounds and launched them at the three great toads. "Take them down!" Naruto commanded. "Yes Sir!" The three toads replied. They then engaged the hounds in combat and spread out to give each other room.

Naruto then charged Human path and managed to take him out. The Preta Path then to stepped forward to take on Naruto. "Sage Art: Fox Claw Jutsu." Naruto exhaled a great flame imbued with Sage chakra that was partially absorbed by the Preta Path. "Careful Naruto-boy he absorbs all kinds of chakra." Fukasaku warned him. "Thanks for the tip." Naruto smiled engaging the Preta Path in Taijutsu. Using Frog Kata he managed to get several blows off and sent the Preta Path into the ground. The Animal and Naraka Paths both double teamed Naruto who did his best to fend them off but was put on the ropes. The Deva Path then propelled Naruto through the air and into a damaged building causing it to collapse on him. The Naraka path then repaired the Preta, Asura, and Human Paths. Getting out of the rubble Naruto saw all Six Paths standing together again.

Throwing several kunai with explosion tags, Naruto aimed to separate them. succeeding he created two shadow clones. "Sage Art: Wind Release Rasenshuriken." Naruto declared forming the attack and then hurling it at the Human and Asura Paths who were then shredded by the attack. "He threw it." Fukasaku and Shima expressed. In the confusion Naruto tried to sneak upon the Deva Path only for the animal path to stop him. Then he was ambushed by the Preta Path and darted back. "Hey Grandpa Toad, I need some back up." Naruto shouted. "Gotcha. Bunta-boy I'm going to send you to Naruto!" Fukasaku told him launching the mighty toad in Naruto's direction. Landing near them, Gamabunta eyed the Animal Path. Signaling him, Naruto uppercut the Animal Path and sent him into Gamabunta's mouth. Following him inside Naruto took him and let Gamabunta spit them out. "They're vision is unified. Naruto said getting tired. Soon the Sage Mode deactivated. Seeing an opportunity the Deva Path lunged at Naruto and began to thrash him apart.

"Throw me the scroll Naruto-boy!" Fukasaku shouted. Doing as he said quickly, Naruto threw the scroll and continued to fight the Deva path. Opening the scroll, Fukasaku summoned a clone of Naruto from Mount Myoboku. "What is that? A Shadow Clone?" Shima asked. "Yep, its storing natural chakra so he can renter Sage Mode." Fukasaku stated. "Smart move." Shima complimented. "Deactivate it!" Fukasaku croaked. Doing so Naruto then reentered Sage Mode and caught the fist of the Deva Path; and punched him away.

* * *

Throughout the village Tsunade was connecting with Katsuyu and healing everyone she could. Her chakra was being stretched thin and Tsunade was starting to fade. Elsewhere Sakura was recovering with her Phoenix Restoration. After a couple of minutes she managed to get herself back up and started helping in healing those who were in need. She found several Chunin unconscious and spread her pink flames over them and managed to revive them. Going further she heard voices crying for help underneath rubble. Lifting it up she saw several families trapped. "I'm coming don't worry." Sakura assured them. Moving the debris she freed them and had a Chunin lead them to safety.

Hinata was scanning the area with her Byakugan for any stragglers. Whenever she found someone she led them to a safe haven. After a while she found Kiba and Shino. "Are you two ok?" She asked. "Yeah just a few scrapes." Kiba grunted. "Are you ok?" Shino asked her. "I'm fine we've got to help everyone we can. Move out and bring everyone to the safe haven near the forest furthest away from the battlefield." Hinata instructed them. Spreading out they did their best to save everyone they could.

* * *

Naruto had managed to take out three paths of Pain. The Deva Path, Preta Path and Naraka Path were all that remained. Using his Flaming Kunai Jutsu as a distraction he took out the Naraka path first to ensure they would stop getting back up. Naruto then engaged the Preta Path and nearly knocked him away only to get put in a full nelson. " It's no point in struggling." Pain said. "He'll be taking your chakra now." Pain smirked as Naruto went back to his normal state losing Sage Mode. "That's fine by me." Naruto grinned. He started taking in more natural chakra while the Petra Path kept absorbing it. Soon it turned into a toad statue which allowed Naruto to break out as he reactivated Sage Mode.

"You're very persistent." Pain sighed. In the shadows Fukasaku and Shima tried to hit Pain with a Genjutsu only for Shima to get tossed away and Fukasaku killed. "NOO!" Naruto shouted. Gamabunta, Gamaken, and Gamahiro tried to attack Pain but were blasted far away and out of the village. Naruto charged Pain again only to be bested and slammed on the ground and impaled with rods. "It is now time for you to meet your end." Pain said coldly. As he reached down to grab Naruto, Pain was suddenly hit from his right. Looking to see who hit him, he was staring at Hinata. "Hinata! Get out of here!" Naruto yelled. "I can't do that." She stated boldly. Hinata then blitzed Pain and engaged in a high speed Taijutsu match. "Eight Trigrams: 361 Lion Palm!" Hinata knocked Pain off his feet and four feet off the ground, and then unleashed a furry of blows with her fist glowing a brilliant purple in the aura of majestic lions. Her final blow sent Pain crashing into the ground creating a crater.

While he was down she tried to see his condition, only to be retracted to him and stabbed in the stomach and tossed aside. "I will say, you are a powerful woman." Pain said looking at her. He then turned to take out Naruto when suddenly he watched as the young ninja erupted in a blood red chakra. Pain used his Almighty Push to thrust Naruto away only for it to work partially. Naruto then started to grow tails. First he grew one, then two, then five, and then seven.

* * *

A few hundred yards away Yamato was getting a signal that the Nine Tails seal was being broken. "DAMN!" He shouted as he main a b-line for the Hidden Leaf Village. He used his wood style to occasionally thrust him forward into the air. As he got closer he could feel the chakra in the air and ground.

* * *

Inside of Naruto's mind he walked slowly to the cage of the Nine Tailed Fox. "Yes, free me now. DO IT! I can defeat him for you and avenge your friend." The Nine Tailed Fox growled and roared. Reaching up to tear off the seal, Naruto was suddenly grabbed by someone and whisked away. Suddenly Naruto was surround by white light and clear walls. Naruto was confused at his whereabouts. Looking at the person who grabbed him, he watched as they got closer and the light got dimmer allowing him to see their face. "Hi there." A yellow haired man said with a smile. "Hey you look familiar." Naruto spoke softly. Thinking of the Hokage Monument he realized who he was talking to. "You're him, the Fourth Lord Hokage." Naruto gasped. "Yep Minato Namikaze, I guess I should've thank the Nine Tails for letting me have the chance to see my son." Minato smiled. "Son…. I'm your son…" Naruto started off. Suddenly he jammed his fist into Minato's stomach. "HOW THE HELL COULD YOU LOCK SOMETHING LIKE THAT INSIDE YOUR OWN SON!" Naruto yelled with tears in his eyes. "Ok guess I deserved that. But I did it because of a man used the Nine Tails to attack the village. That man was Madara Uchiha. I knew that you would one day you would be able to control its power and use it for good." Minato stated. "I am sorry for all the trouble it's put you through." Minato admitted. "It's fine, I'm the son of the 4th Hokage I can handle it." Naruto smiled.

"That's my boy." Minato smiled. "So what happens now?" Naruto asked. "Now you get back out there and avenge Jiraiya-Sensei." Minato said placing his hand on Naruto's stomach and strengthening the seal on the Nine Tails. "I will Dad." Naruto assured him as he hugged his father and then went back to the outside world. As he got closer to the village, Yamato saw as the Nine Tails chakra had completely vanished and reverted. "Impossible. What could cause that?" He said slowing down.

* * *

Naruto woke up and got on his feet and stared down Pain who was in tattered clothing from being hit by the chakra of the Nine Tails. "So you've returned." Pain grunted. "Yes I have. It's time to put an end to your goals. "I'm done with you! Chibaku Tensei!" Pain summoned forth a terrestrial body and launched it at Naruto. Summoning a Shadow Clone and sending it away, Naruto prepared to fight the attack. "Fire style: Flaming Kunai." Naruto summoned the flaming attack and managed to cut the giant meteor in half. He then charged Pain and the two started wailing on each other when Naruto deactivated the clone and entered Sage Mode. Using Frog Kata he gained the upper hand then finished Pain with a Wind Release: Odama Rasengan which engulfed him and shredded his body.

"Damn" Naruto huffed. He walked a few steps and then stopped at one of the rods. Grabbing it, he used it to hone in on the main body of Pain. Once he tracked him down he found him in a damn cave. Entering in he saw Nagato in a giant chair. Konan stepped forward and prepared to kill Naruto. "Don't allow him to pass." Nagato hissed. "Why are you doing all of this?" Naruto asked. "I'm doing this for peace. The world must know pain in order to receive peace. It is my form of justice. If only Jiraiya-Sensei could have seen it, he probably would be alive." Nagato stated. "Sensei…you killed your own master!" Naruto roared. Nagato then sent a rod into Naruto only for him to burst into Sage and Nine Tails chakra and entering a fused state that sent chills through Nagato's spine. "You can't go around killing people like that. You've got to see the good in people. You've got to have patience and love and valor. Changing people through force makes them hate you. You've got to believe in a better world a safer world. I hope to bring forth that new world when I become Hokage!" Naruto declared. Hearing his words, Nagato realized that he was wrong and that he needed to have a better outlook for change to come.

"So you think you can change this world?" Nagato asked him. "Yes!" Naruto proclaimed. "Then do of Heavenly Life." Nagato whispered. "NO! Don't!" Konan screamed. Using the last of his power Nagato revived everyone in the village that was killed in the attack. "There, my gift of you. Please bring peace to this world." Nagato said as he coughed up blood. "I will." Naruto assured him. "I will take his body." Konan cried transporting him away.

Leaving the cave, Naruto stumbled back to the village and was exhausted. The more he walked the heavier his legs got. Eventually he fell forward and almost passed out when he was caught by someone. "Hey there kid." Kakashi said putting Naruto on his back. "Hey Sensei. It's great to have you back." Naruto smiled as Kakashi carried him back to the village. As they got closer Naruto could hear people talking. Going further the people came into focus of Naruto's vision. "Hey, there he his!" Kiba called out. Everyone began to cheer and praise Naruto for saving the village. "I think everyone wants to thank you." Kakashi said letting him down softly. The brief rest gave Naruto back some of this strength.

Going into the crowed, he received hugs and was thrown into the air in a celebratory fashion. "Naruto!" Sakura called out. He was then put down by the crowd and stood there as Sakura walked over to him. "I'm glad you're ok." She said hugging him. "Right back at you." Naruto chuckled lightly. "Never scare me like that again." Sakura hissed putting him in a headlock and running her knuckles through Naruto's hair. "Ouch." Naruto groaned "Naruto!" Hinata shouted running up to him. "I'm sorry I couldn't help you out more." She sighed. "Don't be, you helped me out plenty. Hope I didn't hurt you in my anger." Naruto said "No I'm fine." Hinata said hugging him. "Aww you two are so cute." Sakura smiled. "Oh hush." Naruto snipped.

After a while Naruto was taken to a medical tent to get checked out. "Where is Granny Tsunade?" Naruto asked. "She passed out and slipped into a coma overexerting herself healing the people of the village. She's in a safe location." Sakura informed him. "Damn, she better wake up soon." Naruto hissed.

* * *

In the office of the Feudal Lord a meeting was taking place to see who would be the acting Hokage. "I would've recommend Jiraiya, he was such a noble and powerful ninja. Sadly he isn't with us anymore, may he rest." The Feudal Lord sighed. "He was a student of the Third Hokage as was the Fifth maybe the village needs someone with a different ideology." A man spoke up. "Hmm tis possible what the village needs. Then you will act as the Sixth Hokage till it's official, Danzo." The Feudal Lord told the man. "I will lead the village with diligence" Danzo said with smile

* * *

Elsewhere in the Hidden Cloud Village the 4th Raikage A was furious that his brother was attacked by Sasuke. "What the hell is Tsunade doing?!" He wondered slamming his fist into his desk breaking it. "Sir what is our next plan of action?" Durai asked. "I called for a summit of the Kage. We need to deal with the threat of the Akatsuki." A stated. "When do we move out?" Durai asked. "Tomorrow Morning." A replied.

* * *

In the Hidden Sand Village, Gaara was preparing his entourage for the Kage Summit. " We'll need to be cautious in our journey. The enemy we are dealing with is very treacherous." Gaara told his siblings who would be accompanying him.

* * *

The Tsuchikage of the Hidden Stone Village was having a rough day. "Ugh all this paperwork is getting on my nerves, plus those bothersome Akatsuki bastards." Onoki huffed. "Lord Tsuchikage we have a message that a summit of the Kage has been called." Kurotsuchi stated. "! What?! Oh for the love of… fine. When is it for?" Onoki asked. "Tomorrow sir." Kurotsuchi replied. "Then get prepared." Onoki declared standing.

* * *

Resting in her chair, the Mizukage was having a very relaxing day. "My goodness I'm glad to be done for a while." Mei said softy. Hearing a knock at the door, Mei told them to enter. "Lady Mizukage a summit of the Kage has been called." Chojuro of the Seven Swordsmen stated. "Damn it all." Mei sighed.

* * *

Going to the Hokage Office, Danzo called a meeting of the able bodied Jonin to secure the boarders. He was then told by one of the members of Root that a summit of the Kage has been issued. "I see then we shall go at once." Danzo stated.


	11. Chapter 11

In the Akatsuki hideout, Madara was telling Sasuke that the Summit of the Kage was forming. "You will have your chance to get your revenge on Danzo at the Summit. He's one of the slimiest ninja to ever walk the face of the earth. He's corrupt and his death will be the first in our step for conquest. The second will be taking out all the Kage of the great nations." Madara declared. "Excellent. He will fall at my hand and I will bathe in his blood." Sasuke laughed manically. "Calm down and keep your mind focus. Danzo is very cunning and has accumulated a lot of Sharigan he stole from dead bodies." Madara warned him. "He'll pay for that." Sasuke grunted.

* * *

Meeting in the Land of Iron, the Five Kage Summit came to order. "I've asked Mifune to mediate this meeting since we're in his land." A stated. " The Akatsuki is a threat to everyone and the entire world. They need to be eliminated at all cost." Mifune voiced. "They are very powerful. Do we know how many of their forces are still active?" Onoki asked. "I know they have four members definitely active. Led by Sasuke Uchiha of the Leaf." A roared with his chakra flaring up a bit. All of the guards leaped from behind the curtains they were standing behind to protect their respective Kage. "Calm down A. We need to keep cool heads about this." Mei retorted. "Do we know who leads them?" Gaara asked. "Yes, the leader of the Akatsuki is the man who unleashed the Nine-Tails on the Hidden Leaf sixteen years ago, Madara Uchiha. Danzo informed them all. Hearing this brought shock to everyone. "Impossible! Madara is older than I am he'd be too weak to do something like that. Wasn't it reported that the Fourth Hokage fought the man who unleased the Nine Tails. " Onoki shouted. "Indeed it was but somehow he is alive. We need a plan of action." Danzo stated. "I propose you form a collation led by the Hokage." Mifune stated. "Why him, he isn't even official." A barked. "He's the best person for job." Mifune said. Ao one of the Mizukage's guards noticed a chakra roaming around the room and coming from Danzo. "It can't be." He said. "What's wrong?" Chojuro asked. "He's manipulating Mifune!" Ao shouted pointing at Danzo. "What is the meaning of this outburst?!" Onoki roared. "I fought Shisui Uchiha long ago and I remember his chakra. You confiscated a Sharingan from him and are using it to manipulate Mifune." Ao explained. "Is this true?" A asked.

Suddenly an explosion shook the ground and Sasuke burst through the walls. "DANZO!" Sasuke howled with great ire. Fu and Torune leaped in front of Danzo to protect him from Sasuke only to be cut down in a flash. Danzo then fled with great haste. Sasuke was about to go after him when suddenly he was punched into the wall by A. "Guess I can have a warmup." Sasuke grinned. He drew his sword then clashed with A who was generating lightning around his arm. The two did battle for a short while until A kicked Sasuke away. "You're quite the pest." Mei taunted and she breathed a stream of magma out of her mouth and shot it at Sasuke who narrowly dodged hit. He retaliated with a blast of lightning that Mei dodged. A darted towards Sasuke again and tried to behead him. With his Mangekyou Sharingan, Sasuke saw through his movements and dodged the assault. With his left eye Sasuke shot Amaterasu at A and hit him on his left arm. "Damn it!" A howled in annoyance. He darted pack and used his right arm to amputate his left. "I'm ending this." Onoki declared levitating into air. He raised his hands and put Sasuke in a cube and watched as he disappeared.

"Nice try." Madara said with Sasuke beside him glaring at them. "Oh Zetsu, do you mind taking care of them please. Sasuke go get Danzo." Madara said. Out of the wall came a man with side of his body black and the other white. "Oh this is going to be fun." Zetsu taunted.

Rushing outside Sasuke hunted down Danzo and stopped him from escaping. "You dissected members of my clan and forced my brother to kill everyone. You're going to pay." Sasuke growled. "I'd love to see you try." Danzo smirked. The two engaged in battle with Danzo pulling off incredible jutsus. With his shirt ripped off Danzo stood before Sasuke with an arm with several Sharingan embedded into it. "You bastard!" Sasuke hissed. "You kiss your mother with that mouth oh right you don't." Dazno mocked. With incredible speed, Sasuke had his fist inside of Danzo's chest and then bisected him with his sword. Danzo's body began to shimmer and he was still whole. "What did you just do?" Sasuke asked. " It's called Izanagi. Allows reality to become illusions." Danzo informed him. Sasuke charged him more and more. Each time he delivered a deadly blow, Danzo countered it. Looking at his arm Sasuke saw that he was lowering on stolen Sharingan. Sasuke then pushed Danzo further and further and eventually made him exhaust all of his Sharingan. Danzo then used wood style jutsu to combat Sasuke but failed in his assaults. "Dragon Fang Jutsu." Sasuke launched a lightning dragon at Danzo that bit him in half. "Damn you boy." Danzo spat. "Amaterasu." Sasuke spoke softly. Those were the last words Danzo heard before he was engulfed in black flames.

Turning to go back to the Kages and finish them, Sasuke was then kicked away by Kakashi. "It's been a while Sasuke." Kakashi said glaring at him. "See you're still using that stolen Sharingan of yours." Sasuke spat. "It was gift." Kakashi retorted. "LIES!" Sasuke raged as he charged the Chidori and blitzed Kakashi. With great ease, Kakashi countered the attack and slammed Sasuke into a nearby rock. "You shouldn't use a jutsu against its creator." Kakashi mocked. Sasuke recovered and blasted Kakashi with the Chidori Current and sent him flying back. Making quick hand signs Kakashi launched the Rapid Cerebos, then the Lightning Hound. Sasuke was impressed by the jutsus. Kakashi then slammed his fist into the ground "Ninja Art: Elemental Pack Assault." Kakashi then summoned five hounds one fire, one water, one earth, one wind, and one lightning that all circled Sasuke and attacked in rapid and intervals and managed to cause a bit of damage. Erupted in lightning he took out the hounds and then made a b line for Kakashi and managed to out maneuver him and stab him in the shoulder.

"You think you can use the Sharingan like an Uchiha, ha pathetic." Sasuke taunted in a deranged manner. Swinging his fist he hit Kakashi with the Dragon Fist Jutsu, and critically wounded him. Sasuke moved closer to him and was about to kill Kakashi only to be punched away. Landing on his feet he looked and saw Sakura walking towards him. "That's no way to teach our sensei." Sakura said with her pink haori flowing in the wind. " You here to stop me?" Sasuke smirked. "If need be yes." Sakura said coldly stopping in front of Kakashi. Placing her hand over his wound and using her pink flames she managed to heal him to the point he could stand.

"Humph. You've gotten quite good at healing, I'll give you that." Sasuke huffed. "Shut your mouth, I'm bringing you in." Sakura stated. "What the hell are you even doing here?" Sasuke asked. "We came because we didn't trust Danzo and thought you both might try something." Sakura informed him. "So you came to die then." Sasuke growled charging her. The two battled fiercely with Sasuke unable to get past Sakura's defense. He made sure not to get hit by her punches as he could tell she had gotten stronger. Putting distance between them Sasuke charged Sakura with the Chidori. She countered it with the Phoenix Claw. The two jutsus collided and caused an explosion.

The two were then standing far away from each other with Sasuke engulfed in the Susanoo and Sakura in Moeru. "That jutsu of yours as gotten more compressed. I can't believe you actually became a decent kunoichi." Sasuke laughed. " I became an excellent one." Sakura shot back. " And people all around have been calling me the Burning Fist. Allow me to show you why." Sakura grinned disappearing from his sight and punching him in the center of the Susanoo breaking it. Sasuke was shocked at her sheer strength and used the arms of the Susanoo to swipe her away. Sasuke prepared and launched an arrow at Sakura only for it to be blown away by a flaming kunai from the ground. "So you have some new skills." Naruto said from above in Sage Mode. "Nice cloak, trying to look like a real ninja." Sasuke scoffed. "Shut the hell up. Hey Sakura shall we put the hurt on him?" Naruto grinned. "Oh yes." Sakura agreed. The two then charged the Susanoo with a Wind Release Rasengan and Moeru Fist and broke through its defenses. Sasuke was then on the ropes and forced him to be strictly on defense.

Using Frog Kata, Naruto managed to hit Sasuke in the face and cracked his jaw. "Shit." Sasuke groaned. He then brought down his fist and summoned a large tail. "Lightning Style: Dragon tail!" using it like a whip he cracked it at Sakura and Naruto. "Wind Style: Hurricane Gale." Activating his wind jutsu Naruto summoned a hurricane and ripped up the lightning jutsu and nearly took out Sasuke. Closing his eye and focusing he released Amaterasu. The black flames flooded towards Naruto and Sakura boxing them in. "Moeru: Level 5!" Sakura erupted in white flames and shield them both. "Phoenix Force!" Sakura launched a white fire bird at the Amaterasu and burned through it causing Sasuke to freeze in awe. "Impossible." He whispered. As the bird came towards him he was whisked away by Madara.

"That was a close one." Madara said impressed by Sakura's power. Sakura then hit the ground and her jutsu dissipated. "Shit that hurt." Sakura cringed. "Sakura! The hell where you thinking?!" Naruto growled. "Protecting us, Twerp." Sakura shot. Naruto helped her up and they prepared to fight once more. Kakashi joined them in standing before Sasuke and Madara. "We bid thee farewell for now. We will see you all in the war." Madara said vanishing with Sasuke. "Are you alright Sakura?" Kakashi asked. "Yes Sensei. I didn't see another way out so I tried a level 5 Moeru on Sasuke's attack. I'm glad it work." Sakura sighed. "Yeah so am I. Next time warn me." Naruto scolded her. "We should get inside and see what's going on." Kakashi said.

Entering the building they found the Four Kage and their guards in the midst of dead Zetsu bodies. " Is everyone ok?" Kakashi asked. "Why yes we are." Mei said winking at him which made Kakashi a bit nervous. "Where is that brat Sasuke?" A asked in a fury. "He vanished with Madara, Lord Raikage." Kakashi replied. Seeing his wound Sakura gazed at it. "What happened to your arm?" Sakura asked. "I had to amputate it because of that blasted Amaterasu." A huffed. " I see so recently. That's good." Sakura said walking over to him. "Hold still." She instructed. Examining his arm, she focused her chakra intensely and used her Phoenix Restoration Jutsu and restored his arm. The act took a lot of Sakura and caused her to stumble. "I got you." Naruto said catching her. "Thanks." Sakura sighed softly. "You're an incredible healer. Thank you very kindly." A expressed. "We need to form an alliance. It is the only way we can bring down the Akatsuki and Madara." Gaara stated. "So who will lead? I'm certainly not doing it." Mei shot. "I'm too old that shit. And no offense Kazekage you're too young." Onoki groaned. "Guess leadership falls to you, Lord Raikage." Gaara said. "I'll do so with honor. So who speaks for the Leaf?" He asked Kakashi. "Guess I do as the Acting Sixth Hokage. We the Leaf will join the Alliance." Kakashi stated. "Then we should all get back to our villages and start to prepare for war. I'll be visiting each village over the week to see our progress is going." A informed them.

* * *

Returning to the Hidden Leaf Naruto took Sakura to a medical tent while Kakashi was summoned to the Feudal Lord's office. "Since Danzo was killed and a treacherous snake, I'm appointing you the official." The Feudal Lord started when they were interrupted. "She's awake! Lady Tsunade is awake!" Shizune said bursting into the room. "Oh thank God." Kakashi sighed. "Well guess she's ready to resume her duties." The Feudal Lord.

Going to Tsunade, Kakashi informed her of all that was going on and had happened. "So Naruto defeated Pain and we joined an alliance with the other villages and Sasuke tried to kill the 5 Kage and Madara is pulling all the strings. That's just great." Tsunade grunted eating food to regain her strength. "I'll start prepping all the Jonin and half the Chunin for battle and have to remaining half and Genin ready to defend the village." Kakashi stated. "Sounds excellent. I'll be out when I'm done to check on everyone. Where's Sakura and Naruto?" Tsunade asked. "Sakura is getting checked on. She blasted through Amaterasu and overexerted herself." Kakashi informed her. "Damn she keeps amazing me." Tsunade smirked.

In the medical tent, Sakura was recovering quietly with Naruto conversing outside with Shikamaru, Lee, Shino, Choji, Neji, Kiba, and Sai. "So what is the plan exactly?" Sai asked. "We need to rescue Sasuke, I know he's done a lot of criminal acts but he's still a member of the Leaf. I say we should try to rehabilitate him." Naruto stated. " Do you think it's possible?" Kiba wondered. "I believe anything is possible we try. On the matter of the Akatsuki, we need to find there weakness. We managed to get some intel from the ones we captured but they were too new to have any deep info." Naruto sighed. "Something I find weird is that we haven't seen or heard of any army." Shikamaru stated. "What do you mean?" Shino asked. "The only people that we know of with the Akatsuki that are alive are Madara, Sasuke and his three man team. Other than that everyone we know of is either captured or dead. Even if they weren't they were still greatly outnumbered." Shikamaru stated. "Let's not forget these guys have been gathering the Tailed Beast. So far they have all but two." Choji pointed out. " That could be the weapons that give them the edge." Lee added. "Whatever they're planning we're going to stop them." Naruto declared.

After a couple of hours, Sakura had recovered and was on her feet helping patients. "Shouldn't you be resting?" Ino asked from behind. "I can't rest while there are people who need help." Sakura retorted. "You're no good to them if you're worn out?" Hinata protested walking up. "I appreciate the sentiment, but we were hit hard and can't afford to relax." Sakura argued. "Fine, how about you sit and consult and just read reports and act as a director?" Ino suggested. "If it makes you feel any better than sure." Sakura sighed. "Excellent we have a desk for you over here." Hinata smiled. Going to it, Sakura sat down and started directing doctors to various patients. Walking up Tsunade observed her pupil in action. "Back on your feet already I see." Tsunade commented. Looking up, Sakura saw Tsunade standing over her. "Hey! You're back on your feet." Sakura smiled. "That I am. I'm surprised you're not out treating patients yourself." Tsunade stated. "I was but Ino and Hinata said I should take it easy and just give out orders and set up plans." Sakura responded. "Good to see you taking advice. You're one of the people we're going to count on the most in the upcoming war." Tsunade explained. "I know, things are about to get messy." Sakura sighed. "Will you be able to do what it takes when it comes to Sasuke?" Tsunade asked. "I love Sasuke. I really do. But I know sometimes you have to be harsh for the ones you love for their own good. If I have to put an end to him, then I will. It's better than to see him get to far gone." Sakura said boldly which shocked Tsunade. "I'm glad you have a strong resolve." Tsunade stated. "Well I'll let you get back to work, I have things to attend to." Tsunade said leaving.

Going to her office she sent out a couple of Anbu members to secure the boarders around the village as well as have several Jonin go and survey the land. "Damn this is going to be hell." Tsunade sighed. "You ok?" Kakashi asked from the window. "Not really, I'm getting to old for this." Tsunade groaned. "No you're not. You've got plenty of years ahead of you." Kakashi smiled. "You're only saying that because you don't want to be the Sixth Hokage." Tsunade shot. "No…" Kakashi said looking away. "Wow, you're so convincing." Tsunade said dryly. " Do you know when the Raikage is coming?" Kakashi asked. "In about two days. Hopefully by then we're ready to move out." Tsunade responded.

* * *

In the Akatsuki hideout Madara was observing Sasuke. "You're vision is getting so bad so fast that it is actually funny." He chuckled. "Shut your mouth." Sasuke growled "Wow, you really don't know how to show any respect. Anyway, you're going to have to implant Itachi's eyes. The Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan is the only way you're going to be useful in this war. With the way your eyes are burning out you're going to be blind in a day." Madara told him. "Fine, just do it." Sasuke spat. "As you wish." Madara voiced.

After doing the surgery and letting Sasuke rest, Madara heard someone coming inside the base. Going towards the sound, he saw Kabuto trotting into the main room of the hideout. "What the hell are you doing here?" Madara asked. "I'm here to help you. Our goals are aligned and you're going to need an army." Kabuto replied. " And you can provide that?" Madara asked. "Of course I can. I've been working on perfecting a jutsu. The Edo Tensei." Kabuto said summoning members of the Akatsuki in front of Madara." I see. Impressive." Madara spoke. " I know I also know your secret." Kabuto grinned summoning another coffin and opening it making Madara flinch. " You're quite observant and bold." Madara grunted. "So are you willing to work together?" Kabuto asked. "Yes I am. We shall destroy the current order and from the ashes bring forth a new one." Madara laughed. " Sounds like everything is going quite well." Kisame chuckled. "Where the hell have you been?" Madara asked. "Just tidying up loose ends. As well as planting false leads to keep them occupied." Kisame smiled. "Excellent. They will try to hide the Eight and Nine Tails from us, but fortunately I know where they are. You will go and get them." Madara ordered. "Understood." Kisame said eagerly.

* * *

Arriving in the Hidden Leaf, A went around and saw the progressive that they were having. "Seems like everything is going quite well." A commented. Going further through the village, A eventually found Tsunade. "Glad to see you're up and about." A stated. "Thanks so am I." Tsunade sighed. "Everything seems to be in order. We have scouts that have found movements of Akatsuki soldiers in several locations and will have Allied Forces secure them." A informed them. "Excellent. Glad we're getting progress." Tsunade said. "Indeed. Where is Naruto Uzumaki?" A asked. "Around somewhere." Tsunade replied motioning for an Anbu shinobi to go find him. After a couple of minutes they brought Naruto before them. "Hey, what's going on Great Uncle Raikage?" Naruto asked. "Uncle is just fine no need for great." A grunted. " I called you here because it's time that you learned to control The Nine Tails." A told him. "Do you have someone in mind to help me?" Naruto asked. "Yes my brother B. The host of the Eight Tails." A informed him. "Cool when do I leave?" Naruto wondered. "Right now, these two will bring you to B. Tsunade, you can have two of your shinobi go as well. There are members from all five nations that will be guarding them." A said. "I'll send Iruka who is close to Naruto as well as Might Guy." Tsunade stated. "Good choices." A agreed.

* * *

Going to the location where B was located Naruto was brought to the Island Turtle. Going inside Naruto met with Killer B. "Yo yo yo young brotha! How thangs going down?" Killer B asked. "Um they're fine I guess we're mobilizing our forces. I'm here to learn how to control the Nine Tails." Naruto told him. "Alright then young brotha let's get started!" Killer B cheered.

* * *

At the base of the Shinobi Alliance, A was coordinating the movements of the shinobi. " We need to have divisions for different styles. At least five spread out for combat. We'll need one medical, one for intelligence, and one for sensory style." A stated. "We'll get on it sir." Durai stated. "Do we know anything about how they plan on attacking?" Mei asked. "No ma'am we still don't." Durai sighed. "There have been word that Kabuto may be in league with Madara. He's a leach and loves to suck off people of power." Tsunade grunted. "He studied with your old friend Orochimaru, what do you think he could've picked up?" Onoki asked. " A lot. Orochimaru was extremely thorough and studious. He knew a vast amount of jutsus and secrets." Tsunade replied. "Don't worry, whatever he's got planned we will crush it." Gaara assured everyone one. "Damn straight. It's time to go forth and secure the land." A commanded. Gaara, Mei, and Onoki went out with certain platoons while Tsunade and A stayed behind at the command center.

The united forces went to various locations and mobilized in order to combat the Akatsuki. While they were surveying they fortified their defenses and set traps that could hinder the Akatsuki greatly. The alliance went through the land with diligence and made sure they wouldn't be caught off guard. Waiting to see what would happen, all five of the combat sources were suddenly in the presence of coffins rising up from the ground. "The hell is happening?" Choji asked. The coffins opened and revealed reanimated shinobi. " I've heard of this jutsu, The Edo Tensei." Shikamaru groaned. The reanimated shinobi stepped out and engaged everyone.

All of the combat forces, were fighting reanimated shinobi and dealt with incredible difficulties. "It appears that reanimated soldiers have appeared." Inoichi stated. "You don't mean the Edo Tensei?" A asked. "Yes sir. It appears to be it." Inoichi replied "Damn it all to hell. Can't believe they're using my Uncle's Jutsu." Tsunade huffed. "Why in the hell did he create that thing?" A asked angrily. "So the youth wouldn't have to deal with war." Tsunade sighed.

At one location four coffins rose up and revealed four past Kage. The 2nd Mizukage, the 2nd Tsuchikage, the 3rd Raikage, and the 4th Kazekage. "Well this is peculiar." Mu chuckled. "The hell aren't you supposed to be dead?" Gengetsu bellowed. "I could say the same about you." Mu retorted. "We're all dead or at least we were." Raza pointed out. "It must be that infernal jutsu of the 2nd Hokage." The 3rd Raikage growled "Hmm. Seems like we have company." Mu informed them. Looking down they saw the Shinobi Alliance.

"Look up there! It's the 4th Kazekage." A sand shinobi said. "And that one is the 2nd Tsuchikage." Said a stone shinobi. "Looks like we're in for a hell of a battle." Temari sighed.


	12. Chapter 12

The alliance were then hit hard by the 3rd Raikage. He plowed through them like they were academy students, blocking and destroying any jutsu they used. Gengetsu then summoned a giant clam that attacked everyone. Mu levitated into the sky and released his Particle Release and turned several shinobi into dust. Rasa used his gold dust to rip shinobis apart. He went to attack another one when suddenly sand stopped him. Turning Rasa saw his Gaara standing before him. "Hello Father." He said dryly. "Gaara, I'm surprised to see you here." Rasa said looking at his son and noticing how official his clothes were. "Are you the Kazekage?" He asked. "Yes I am." Gaara replied. "I see. Wish we could talk but I have to fight." Rasa said attacking him.

* * *

At the headquarters of the alliance, A was getting relayed all the information. "Damn he's resurrected Kages. This isn't good." A sighed. "There are reports that the Gold and Silver Brothers are rampaging as well." Inoichi stated. " Damn those two are powerful. They nearly killed the Second Hokage. They even fought the Third Raikage briefly." Tsunade stated. "How did they day?" A young shinobi asked. " They were eventually killed in the 2nd Shinobi War along with their squad of eighteen shinobi by the 2nd Hokage." Tsunade informed him.

* * *

On the Island Turtle, Naruto was training hard and eventually made some leeway with the Nine Tails. Outside the temple the guards were all watching intensely to see if anyone would try and attack. Suddenly a shinobi was bisected. Looking in the direction they saw Kisame standing before them. "Guess I get a warm up before taking the two inside." He laughed. Suddenly he was kicked into the air by Guy. "I'm finishing you now once and for all." Guy declared with fire.

The warriors clashed harshly causing everyone to look at them in awe. Kisame released high powered water jutsu that made a couple of scratches on Guy who kept on pushing through. Soon he opened the 6th Gate of Joy and punched Kisame away. He pursued him quickly and then released the Morning Peacock that Kisame recovered from. Kisame then fused with Samehada and managed to push Guy back forcing him to unleash the 7th Gate of Insanity. The two did a final bout with Guy using the Daytime Tiger and caused an explosion. With the smoke clearing everyone saw Kisame laying on the ground. "Don't move." Guy said walking to the shinobi that followed them. Kisame then flinched a little and received a punch into the gut that shook the ground. "I SAID DON'T MOVE!" Guy roared. "Damn, we at least have him down." Iruka sighed. "Good. Madara is next." Guy growled

* * *

In the temple Naruto had reached the point where he was fighting the Nine Tails in his mind and suddenly it was wrapped in chains. Turning he saw a beautiful woman with red hair standing there. "Hi there." She said taking him to a different location. "Wait who are you?" Naruto asked. "Guess." She smiled. "You're the Nine Tails true form!" Naruto shouted pointing at here. "No you knucklehead!" She protested punching him on the head. "Wait… are you my mom." Naruto said softly thinking how before he met his dad inside his mind. "Yep. I'm so glad I get to see you." Kushina said softly. "Oh Mom." Naruto said hugging her with tears in his eyes. The two talked for a while before Kushina told him he'd have to take on the Nine Tails and gave him the inspiration to do so. "You're strong, Naruto just like your father. The Nine Tails is an incredible force and you're going to need everything you have to defeat him. But you're also going to need your heart." Kushina stated. "I will don't worry. I"ll tame the Nine Tails, Believe It!" Naruto cheered. "Dattaboy! I love you Naruto." She said kissing him on the cheek. "I love you too Mom." Naruto said hugging her goodbye.

Naruto then went to face the Nine Tails. "Look I know you probably went through a lot but so did I. This guy Madara is wreaking havoc and we have to stop him. Are you with me?" Naruto asked. "Sure. I guess I could use a friend." He said. "Awesome Nine Tails." Naruto grinned. "Oh for God's sake, my name is Kurama you dolt." He spat. "Why didn't you ever say so?" Naruto asked. "You never asked." Kurama chuckled. The two bumped fist and then Naruto was able to enter a controlled version of the Nine Tails chakra.

Waking up he saw Killer B standing there. "Way to go young brotha!" Killer B cheered. "Thanks Uncle B! Let's get out of here and go help the others." Naruto stated. Leaving they were greeted by the guards. "Hey you're finished. Excellent." Iruka said. "Yep. We're ready to fight." Naruto stated. "You can't leave I'm afraid. We need the both of you to stay put so the enemy doesn't get you." Iruka informed them. " Man that's wack fool you fool!" Killer B argued. "The enemy wants both of you so we can't just send you into battle. That's like gift wrapping you both." Iruka shouted. "Sorry Sensei, but you can't stop us." Naruto said as the two of them vanished.

* * *

Signaling the headquarters, A and Tsunade went to intercept them both. "Stop you two." Tsuande yelled. " Granny we want to fight." Naruto explained. "We can't allow that. Madara is going to get exactly what he wants if you go out there." A argued. "We can't give into fear like that Big Bro!" Killer B said standing up to him. A then charged them and missed as Naruto vanished and dodged his assault. Trying again he was caught by Killer B who threw him back for the first time. "Fine you two can fight. Be extra careful." A sighed.

* * *

At the battle ground of the Kage, the combat forces were dealing with just Mu now having sealed away the other three Kage. "Shit, he's good." Temari grunted. "We need to find a weakness." Gaara hissed. "Lord Mu is extremely powerful. If only I was a decade younger this would be a lot easier." Onoki ached. Suddenly Mu went to the top of a high pillar and did the Edo Tensei summoning. A coffin rose from the ground and man stepped out. "My goodness. Madara Uchiha." Mu said. Looking up Onoki saw Madara Uchiha and recognized him from the past. "That's him Madara. But if he's been reanimated then who has been impersonating him?" Onoki wondered.

"Interesting the Edo Tensei. Who summoned me?" Madara wondered looking at Mu and saw that he was reanimated as well. "I did. My name is Kabuto and I'm a fan of yours. I've reanimated you with upgrades and you're better than your prime." Kabuto said speaking through Mu. "Foolish child, you know nothing of what I was in my prime." Madara growled. "Then show me your Uchiha power." Kabuto chuckled allowing Mu to regain his own control.

Madara looked down and observed the shinobi below. Seeing their forehead protectors he noticed the symbol. "Interesting some kind of alliance." Madara chuckled leaping down. Standing before him was 800 shinobi led by Gaara and Onoki. "Stand at the ready." Onoki said calmly. Madara then walked slowly towards them very casually. "Ready….steady… ATTACK!" Gaara ordered. The 800 shinobi charged with great fury at Madara Uchiha. Madara then picked up his pace to a slight jog. As he got half way to them, Madara increased his speed and blitzed through them all. He started displaying incredible Taijutsu and managed to slaughter all in his path. One shinobi through a kunai knife with an explosion tag only for it to be caught and thrown back with the kunai placed on a different shinobi and kicked away blowing up and taking at least ten shinobi with him.

Temari then summoned a strong gust of razor wind only for Madara to block it with earth style. Gaara then surrounded him with sand only for Madara to blast his way out with fire so hot that the sand turned to glass and shatter it. Onoki tried to use his Particle Release only to miss narrowly. The combat force then darted away from him and summoned a powerful conjoined fire jutsu upon Madara. The flames engulfed him fully, and were then dispersed by Madara's Susanoo. "Damn him." A shinobi spat. The Susanoo then swung it's arm and bashed several shinobi to death. Madara then released his Rinnegan and used Chibaku Tensei. He brought down the mighty attack upon the combat force. Onoki flew into the sky and did his best to stop him. When suddenly he was grabbed and saw a blue whirling shuriken strike the attack and blow it up. Looking at who was holding him it was Naruto.

"You ok Grandpa Tsuchikage?" Naruto asked. "Yeah, thanks." Onoki sighed. "Hmm a new attacker." Madara said. Naruto then charged Madara Uchiha and the two clashed harshly with Madara intrigued with Naruto's power. Using Kurama's chakra he kept up with Madara and managed to get in a few attacks but then was put down harshly into the ground. "Damn he's good." Naruto grunted. " You possess the chakra of the Nine Tails, interesting." Madara grinned. While he was glaring at Naruto, Madara noticed a shadow from up above. Looking to see what was causing it, he saw a fiery figure crash into him. "Phoenix Claw!" Sakura struck Madara in the torso and sent him into the ground creating a large crater. Jumping out she landed near Naruto "Sorry I'm late." She said. "What the hell are you doing here?" Naruto asked. "I heard from headquarters that the real Madara was here. So I made a b-line in this direction." Sakura stated. "You have quite the strength." Madara said rising out of the crater. Sakura then powered up to her Moeru: Level 3 and charged him once again. Madara was impressed with her speed and strength at she put him on the defensive. Her orange flame was intense and compressed around her. Whips for fire struck at random and Madara was weary of them in caution that they could attack as well. Seeing an opening he struck her in the side and sent her away.

Naruto then jumped in and began to wail on Madara and eventually got him in the air and attacked him with the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken causing mild damage. "Impressive jutsu; you would've done well in my day with attacks like that." Madara complimented. While he was grinning, Madara was hit in the face by a blue flaming fist. "That actually hurt." He admitted looking at Sakura. She was standing before him in her Moeru: Level 4. The blue flames were flowing around her and causing the temperature in the air to rise. "Incredible your flames are way stronger than before. Their composition is more structured as well." Madara observed. "Thanks, before you were dealing with Moeru: Level 3, this is level 4." Sakura told him. "Good, I love a strong young warrior. Come at me with all you've got!" Madara shouted proudly. The two collided with vast force and Sakura temporarily put Madara on the defensive.

Madara was smiling that he had found such a powerful warrior. As a few minutes past, he quickly ended their fight and sent her crashing into a mountain. "You bastard!" Naruto roared blasting him with the Whirling Fox Jutsu and shredding Madara's body causing him to need to reconstitute himself. "Hmm impressive." Madara said pulling himself back together. Naruto then charged him with several Shadow Clones and attacked from all sides. Punching the ground he released his Flaming Kunai Jutsu and broke Madara's footing. With him in the air, Naruto then hit Madara with the Hurricane Gale Jutsu which caused Madara to activate his Susanoo to defend himself against harm. "Damn that was close." Madara huffed. While he was focused on Naruto, Madara noticed a bright pink flame out of the corner of his eye. "The hell is that?" He wondered. Naruto attacked him quickly and tried to seal Madara away. " Nice try boy." Madara laughed. He then punched Naruto in the face and into a pile of sand that Gaara used to catch him. "Thanks." Naruto huffed. "No problem." Gaara smiled.

Sakura eventually recovered and came back for a second attempt with Madara. "Back for more?" Madara asked. "Yeah I am." She replied harshly. "Excellent." Madara smiled. He activated his Rinnegan and Susanoo and prepared for Sakura's attack. Sakura focused hard and released her Moeru: Level 5. She was then engulfed and surrounded by white flames. The ground beneath her feet began to melt and the alliance began to flee from the site in order to not be affected by the heat. Sakura charged Madara who had to focus in order to not get hit by her blinding speed. "Such strength and heat. Yes! Give me more!" Madara said. Sakura had Madara on the ropes for a while and sent him into the sky and jumped above him. "Phoenix Destruction." Sakura blasted Madara with the jutsu and sent him back to the ground in a pile of white flames.

Emerging from the fire Madara had a mad grin on his face. Suddenly he was hit again, this time by Naruto in a fusion of Sage Mode and Kurama's chakra. Using Frog Kata Naruto got off several hits and damaged Madara. Sakura joined him quickly and they double teamed him forcing him to use several jutsus in order to combat their skills. "Fire Style: Great Annihilation." Madara exhaled a great flames that engulfed them both. Sakura then overtook the fire with her own and blasted Madara in white flames with Naruto fueling it with his wind forcing Madara back.

* * *

Elsewhere Sasuke was following Itachi who was in search of Kabuto. Eventually he found him in a cave and stopped at the entrance. "Why are you here?" Sasuke asked. "I'm here to put an end to Kabuto's plan." Itachi told him. Entering the cave they observed the area. Itachi couldn't find any trace of Kabuto has he had hidden himself. "Well well well if it isn't Itachi." Kabuto snickered. "It's over Kabuto, your schemes end here." Itachi told him. "I doubt that." Kabuto spat. "He's somewhat clever. He covered his tracks well." Sasuke said using his Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan. "He's using a secret art of the snakes." Sasuke stated. "Tell me more Dr. Snakes." Itachi said flatly. "Stop with the puns it's unsettling." Sasuke grunted.

While they were talking, Kabuto attacked them and tried to take them out. He managed to hit Itachi in the torso and kicked Sasuke in the face. The Kabuto then sent out snakes at the both of them. Itachi countered it with a fire jutsu. Sasuke sent out a current of lightning that stunned the snakes. Kabuto then took off his cloak and revealed an altered appearance. He had large muscles and horns on his head. "I went to study with the great Snake Sage and learned Sage Mode that transforms me into a dragon." Kabuto gloated. The Uchiha brothers then double teamed Kabuto, who was able to hold his own against the two of them rather well. Sasuke displayed incredible visual prowess that impressed Itachi. "Your new power is quite nice." Itachi said smiling. "Itachi, please don't smile it's unsettling." Sasuke scoffed.

"Sage Art: White Rage Jutsu" Kabuto released the strong jutsu and caused Itachi and Sasuke to wince in pain. Sasuke managed to fight through the jutsu and break it with his EMS. Itachi and Sasuke both then activate their Susanoo and charge Kabuto. Using his Sage Art he manages to stay ahead of them for the most part. Seeing an opening Sasuke attacked Kabuto in order to trap him only to get his Susanoo sword taken. Kabuto then took the sword and used it against him and Itachi. Eventually he found an opening and cut through Itachi. Only to be caught in a trap that cost him the sword and two of his horns. " You're extremely intelligent Itachi I'll give you that. Though I must ask, why are you listening to him Sasuke? Why follow your brother after all the lies he's told?" Kabuto taunted him. "Shut up." Sasuke growled. He released Amaterasu which Kabuto was able to block. He was then caught by surprise when Itachi struck him several times with his Susanoo.

Kabuto countered and was then hit by fire. Once the flames disappeared he tried his assault again and ended up with the same results. Time and time again he repeated the same actions and released he was stuck in a loop. "What did you do to him?" Sasuke asked looking at the paralyzed Kabuto. "It's called Izanami. He's trapped in a Genjutsu loop no matter what unless he accepts his fate." Itachi informed him. Itachi then made Kabuto release the Edo Tensei.

* * *

All the reanimated shinobi then disappeared into the pure world. "Looks like this is it for me." Mu sighed as he vanished. "Well seems like Kabuto has undone the Edo Tensei. Good thing I know how to stay here." Madara smiled casting a few hand signs as his body reconstituted. "Damn you got to be kidding me." Naruto huffed.

* * *

"Wait, there's so much I want to ask you. So much I need to know." Sasuke pleaded with Itachi. "I know, just know this. Follow your heart and protect the village. You must thrive with the Will of Fire." Itachi said as he disappeared. Itachi went into the Pure World but was suddenly sucked from it and crashed into the ground. He then woke up and saw two people around him. One was a beautiful red haired woman and the other a white haired man with dog ears and sword.

* * *

***To find out what happens to Itachi read my story A Yokai, a Wizard, and a Shinobi* **


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